Building Family
by Starr Rose
Summary: Jesse and Daryl continue to explore their new relationship and their new family. Things are never easy in a world where the dead walk and having exes around doesn't make it any better. **Daryl X OC**
1. Chapter 1

I knew what was going to happen. Eric and Kyra were back. The second I heard his voice, my body filled with frantic panic. The little girl I was holding was going to be wrenched from my arms and given to a mother that never truly loved her. I didn't even feel anything for the fiancé I'd believed dead. I simply felt fear, a reaction mirrored by Daryl, who moved in front of the two of us quickly and glared at the advancing couple. The two of them ignored Daryl completely.

"Jesse! You're alive! And Arlene's alive too! I've been looking for you!" Eric cried out.

"Keep yer distance," Daryl growled as they drew closer. "Won' tell ya twice not to touch 'em."

"Excuse me?" Kyra snapped. "That's my little girl and that's Eric's fiancé!"

"Ain't his fiancé no more," Daryl informed her roughly. It didn't even bother me that he didn't ask my opinion. I knew he was just protecting what he viewed as his. "An that lil girl ain' never been yers. So keep yer fuckin' distance."

"Daryl, mouth," I said more out of habit that anything else.

"Jezze Momma, what's going on?" Arlene asked.

"Jesse Momma?" Kyra repeated, her blue eyes landing on the two of us and a frown decorating her face. "You're not her momma. You're not even her stepmother! Eric never married you! She's not your daughter! Give me my kid! You should have run to us the first thing we got off the bus!"

"She is my daughter and you'll keep yer fuckin' distance!" I snapped. "Ya haven't been around to take care of her since she was bout two years old. And, Eric, ya left us to look for **her**!"

"Jesse, I know I hurt you when I left, but I'm back now. I'm so glad you're here. I've been out of my mind with worry. I've been…"

"Fuckin' that girl." Daryl said darkly, nodding towards Kyra.

"Who are you again?"

"Johnny!" I screamed. He looked up from where he was with Beth, Carol, and Judith, cooing over the incoming children. He followed my line of sight to where Eric and Kyra were standing and he grabbed Beth's arm to yank her over. He took Arlene from me and handed her to Beth quickly. He ordered, "Take her into the cell. Don't let nobody in til Daryl, Jesse, or me come get her an ya. Fuckin' go."

He took his spot on the other side of me and blocked Kyra's effort to move towards Arlene. Once she was safely taken to the cell block, Daryl stepped back to my side and we stared at Eric and Kyra dangerously. Eric said diplomatically, "Let's talk about this. Come on. The two of you know we are Arlene's real parents. Her name is Arlene Edith **Finnigan**. Not Arlene Edith Rogers. Not Arlene Edith…whatever this douchebag's name is."

"Watch yer fuckin' mouth or I'll break yer fuckin' jaw. Ya was the one left Lil Bit an Jesse. Ya don' get to come back now an say ya want 'em. Ain't fuckin' happenin'. Ya ain't gettin' 'em."

I reached down and took Daryl's hand in my own. I needed his strength and I needed him to keep me from punching Eric in the face. Johnny said in agreement, "Ya left, Eric. Arlene an Jesse begged ya not to go. They begged ya to stay with them an ya left both of them. We were there for months. We stayed there til we couldn' no more an ya never came back."

"He doesn't want you, you ugly whore," Kyra snarled. "We just want our daughter back. We would have been polite if you'd have just handed her over."

"Ain't never hit a woman in my life but ya better watch yer fuckin' mouth or I'll take ya over to that fuckin' fence an I'll toss ya to 'em walkers, ya get me ya scrawny bitch?" Daryl's voice was getting lower and lower and his accent was becoming thicker and thicker.

"Ya ain't gettin' that lil girl. I don' care," Johnny agreed. "Ain't neither of ya gettin' her."

I reached down and took Johnny's hand with my other hand and he squeezed it tight. I snapped, "I have taken care of Arlene. I have been there when she woke up from nightmares, screaming her lil head off. I was the one who slept up in trees with her tied to me so she wouldn't fall. I walked miles every single day with her on my back. Daryl and I taught her the alphabet! Because of **us**, she knows her entire alphabet **and** she can count to 43! What the fuck have ya done for her? What have ya ever done for her?"

Rick looked up at us. The screaming was attracting everybody's attention but I didn't care. It was over my dead body that those two would be taking my little girl. I realized in that second that I had never loved Eric. Not for a single day in our relationship. I loved his little girl and, because of that, I needed him. But, with the end of the world, I didn't need him anymore. Arlene was mine more than she was ever theirs. Even Daryl had more claim to her than either of them did.

Rick made his way over and stepped between us. He asked, "What's going on, Daryl?"

I kept my eyes on Eric and Kyra. Their blue eyes flashed back at me angrily. They didn't have the same type of anger I did. They had the anger of people who believed they were owed something. Johnny, Daryl, and I had the type of anger of people who were protecting what was theirs.

"Rick, you're the leader. Tyreese told us that you're a good man who does the right thing," Eric's voice was level. He could always have a level voice when he wanted something. It was how he'd always convinced me to look the other way when he'd come in at night smelling like his whore of an ex. "We're Arlene's parents and we just want our daughter back. You have to understand that we thought she was dead. I don't know why Jesse is acting this way."

"Rick," my voice was cracking, I could hear it. But I was desperate. I couldn't lose my little girl. I would die first. "Johnny and I have been here for about two months now. Please, you know us. You know Arlene. We've told you about how things were before. Don't let them take my little girl. Please. Don't let them take her from me."

"What's going on? Why is anyone taking Arlene away from you?"

"We are her real parents," Eric restated. "And we are sorry that we've saddled Jesse here with her for so long. I meant to return to the farm in days but after I found Kyra, a herd came through and chased us South. All I ever wanted to do was get back to Jesse and Arlene."

"Bullshit!" I screamed. "Ya were fuckin' Kyra before all of this happened! I know ya were and I never cared because I loved Arlene too much to lose her! So fuck Kyra all ya want but ya aren't takin' Arlene away from me! I have raised that lil girl since she was two years old. Ya bastards lost her in a supermarket. I found her and I took care of her!"

Suddenly, the hands I was grasping weren't for support. They were holding me back. I didn't even realize I was moving forwards until Daryl and Johnny yanked me back. Rick ordered, "Calm down, Jesse. We can talk about this. We can do this civilly. It's just like a custody battle. They are her real parents. We can't write them off."

"She doesn't even know them!"

"Rick, ya can' let 'em take Lil Bit."

"Daryl, this really isn't right. Arlene should at least get the chance to know her real parents."

"Rick, I ain' gonna let 'em take Lil Bit from me an Jesse. We're her family an I'll take my fuckin' family an I'll leave."

"You won't go anywhere with my daughter."

I wrenched my hand away from Eric's and drew my Beretta from the back of my pants. I leveled it at Eric's head quickly. I snarled, "Ya have no claim to her and I'll blow yer fuckin' head off fore I let ya near her."

"Fuck! Jesse, put the gun down," Rick ordered.

I stepped out of his arms reach and circled around Daryl. I said as calmly as if I were talking about the weather, "See, Rick, when ya brought these new refugees in, did ya check 'em for bites? Because Kyra here," I moved the gun to her. "she looks kinda shaky. I'm almost certain she's been bit."

"I'm not bit!" she squealed.

"And, Eric here," I returned the gun to dead center of my ex fiancé's head, "if he's been fuckin' her like I know he has, I bet he's been infected too. I think we have a damn crisis on our hands. We can't let infected people into the prison. They'll turn in there. Kill everybody around them."

"Jesse, stop it," Rick ordered. He moved towards me and Johnny grabbed his arm quickly to stop him. Michonne stood behind Rick, assessing the situation with her mildly bored gaze. I would almost be worried about her stepping in if I didn't know for sure that she didn't like to get involved.

"Shit, I think it's my duty as a part of this group to put them down. Like rabid fuckin' dogs."

"Daryl, stop her. If she shoots them, she'll have to leave."

"Make 'em agree not to take Lil Bit from us," Daryl bargained coldly.

"Daryl, please."

"Don't let them take Arlene from us," Daryl repeated, enunciating each sound of each word.

"We'll work something out," Rick promised. "You won't have to lose her. You can share her."

"I don't want this fucking psycho bitch near my daughter!" Kyra screamed.

I returned the gun to her and cocked it quickly. Everybody in the yard was staring at us by this point, not knowing what to do. I said quietly, "Kyra, I'll let ya know that I've killed before to keep Arlene safe. I have no problem doin' it again."

"Jesse, Arlene is safe."

"Not 'round those two she ain't!" Johnny joined in. "I fuckin' know how they are! Fuckin' saw that dumbass wit my sister an that lil girl! Ain't no good gonna come outta lettin' Arlene near 'em!"

"Look, calm down. For now, Arlene will stay with Jesse and Daryl…"

"Ain't no 'fer now' 'bout it," Daryl snapped. "She's stayin' wit us. Our lil girl."

"She isn't your little girl! I'm her father!" Eric yelled.

"Calm down. Calm down! Jesse, put the gun down. Put the gun down and when everybody's moved in, we'll talk about this. It will be just like having custody. Daryl and Jesse will keep Arlene until we get everything settled. Understand, Jesse? Nobody is taking Arlene from you."

"Damn right they ain't!"

"You too, Daryl. The three of you, go inside. I'm going to stay out here and talk to Eric and Kyra. Go inside and get Arlene. She's probably freaked out and scared right now. Go calm her down."

I lowered my gun and spat at the ground near Kyra's feet. I warned her, "This is not going to end well."

"Damn right it ain't, bitch."

I tucked my gun into the back of my pants and Daryl grabbed my hand. Johnny, Daryl, and I walked slowly to the cell block, not taking our eyes off of the two offenders. We made our way to the cell where Beth was holding Arlene and joined her quietly. Johnny sat on the bed next to Beth and Daryl and I sat on the floor. I pulled Arlene into my lap and wrapped my arms around her tight. Daryl wrapped his arms around both of us. He murmured into my hair, "Ain't gonna let 'em take her. Ain't gonna let 'em take our lil girl."

"Over our dead bodies," Johnny agreed.

"Who were those people Jezze Momma?"

Arlene's voice broke my heart. I hugged her closer and murmured, "Don't worry about it, baby girl. I got you. I love you."

"I ain't gonna have to go with them, am I?"

"Baby, I'll only ever make you go to them if you ask me to."

She nodded and I looked up into Daryl's sad blue eyes. I looked over at Johnny and found him staring at both of us. He ordered, "We all share a cell tonight. Even you, Beth, okay?"

"Johnny, I don't know if my daddy will let me…"

"I'll talk to Hershel," he promised. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead. We were all scared.


	2. Chapter 2

I was sittin' at the door of the cell. Me an Johnny insisted that we watch the cell, not lettin' anybody in an takin' the girls to the bathroom when they had to go. Herschel was kinda pissed at Johnny fer takin' Beth but he knew it would be happenin' eventually. Whether it was cause of danger or cause they got tired of sneakin' round whenever they wanted to fuck round. The two of 'em were together, like me an Jesse, 'cept they didn' fight like cats an dogs every chance they had. But I'd rather have her with me an hatin' on me than anywhere else.

Rick had come by earlier in the day an told us that Jesse, Johnny, an I were gonna sit down an talk to fucker an his bitch, whether we liked it or not. I didn' like it. Weren' gonna matter none anyway. We'd made up our minds that alla us would leave 'fore we'd let 'em have Lil Bit an once we explained it to Beth, she understood. I knew she weren' gonna like it if she had to leave her daddy and sister behind but the way she had her hand up on her stomach, I didn' think she'd say no to goin' with us.

I heard a sound behind me an looked up to see Johnny. He sat on the other side of the door and sighed. I sat quiet. I knew he wanted to talk so I was gonna let him. We hadn' gotten long much but Lil Bit an Jesse were more important than any of our arguin'.

"Daryl," Johnny finally said an I looked over at him, "I'm glad Jesse has ya. Her an Arlene. Yer good fer both of 'em. I know ya love my sister."

"Didn' say I loved her yet," I informed him.

"Yet. Ya didn' say ya loved her yet. But ya do."

I glared at him. Didn' wanna be talkin' 'bout that. He continued, "Point is, even if yer one stupid bastard, I like ya better than I ever did that dumb fuck. Thank ya fer takin' her side today. Lotta men woulda been all too happy to hand Arlene over so they could have all my sister's attention."

"Lil Bit's my lil girl too, Johnny. I'm with Jesse, but even without her, I'm that lil girl's poppa. Not lettin' anybody be takin' that away from me."

"Good. Head on in and get some sleep. I'll finish up watch. Jesse and Arlene are on the bottom bunk. Beth's sleepin' up top."

I nodded an stood up. Then, I knelt down beside him an said real quiet, "Johnny, if Beth's in the way I think she is, ya'll need to be tellin' Hershel real soon. He ain't gonna be happy if he finds out on his own."

"Ain't gonna be happy either way. We ain't even married."

"Enda the world. Only matters that ya love her."

"Tell that to her daddy. Gonna skin me alive."

"But at least ya will be alive when the baby comes out."

He chuckled an nodded. I went back in the cell to where Jesse an Lil Bit were sleepin' on the bottom bunk. I was takin' my boots off when Jesse woke up an looked at me. She asked, "Johnny out there?"

"Well ya think I'd really not let us be guarded, ya lil fuckin' psycho?"

"Shut up and get in bed, you stupid redneck." She was smilin' though an I knew it was okay. I climbed into bed with her an put my arms round my woman an my lil girl. It was nice. Hadn' ever given no thought to havin' kids 'fore the world went to hell. Figured it would happen the way everythin else did. One day some chick would tell me I knocked her up an she'd move in with me an I'd take care of her. Never really thought I deserved somethin' like Jesse or Arlene. Then Lil Bit's hand grabbed mine in her sleep an I fell asleep knowin' I'd never let those dumbfucks take either of my girls away from me.

Next mornin', Jesse woke up an braided Lil Bit's hair an dressed her in a lil yeller dress with some kinda flowers on it. I went out an got food but we stayed in the cell till Rick came to get us at noon to tell us we needed to go talk to 'em. So we both hugged Lil Bit an left her with Beth 'cause Johnny had to come with us too. Beth was watchin' Judith that mornin' so she promised to take 'em both out into the sun shine an make sure to watch them real close.

Jesse grabbed my hand an Johnny's an we followed Rick to an office outta the cell block. The dumbfucks were already at the table, lookin' like they'd showered an scrubbed off. Not that they'd been dirty in the first place. They were fuckin' livin' in Woodbury while we were survivin' day to day an takin' care of Lil Bit on our own. I knew that if it were a courthouse, me an Johnny an Jesse would already have a strike 'gainst us. I knew I was dirty an unshaved, Johnny's hair was growin' out again, an Jesse had a smear of grease cross her hairline from workin' on the water heater coupla days 'fore, tryin' to make sure that nothin' would happen to it when the Governor an his men came through. But we went in there an we sat cross from 'em at the table an stared at 'em that wanted to take our lil girl away.

"Alright, we're going to talk about this real nice and calm now," Rick said slowly an I membered Merle always callin' him Offica Friendly. "That means you can't pull a gun on anybody, Jesse, and we won't have any name calling this time. That goes for you as well, Kyra."

They both nodded real stiff an Jesse twisted her hands into fists at her sides.

"Alright, now I want you to listen to Eric explain what happened, okay, Jesse, Johnny? Then the two of you can explain what happened to you. Then, we'll discuss what happens with Arlene."

The other bitch opened her mouth to talk an Jesse said real quick, "He didn't say you could talk, Kyra. So shut up."

"Jesse, we agreed you would be nice."

"She's bein' nice," I said back.

"Daryl, please, cooperate."

"Yeah, Daryl, keep **my** fiancé in line," fucker said back.

"Aintchur fiancé no more, fuck face, so keep yer eyes an hands to yerself. Ya got that piece a trash right there so stay the fuck away from me an mine."

"Daryl!" Rick was tryin' not to be pissed off at our group an Johnny was grinnin' real big at the dumbfucks cross the table. Knew we oughta behave better but weren' real good in the mood to behave at that point. When I nodded at him so he knew I weren' gonna go off 'gain an he started talkin' 'gain, "Alright, Eric. Go ahead and tell us what happened since the last time you saw Jesse an Johnny."

"Well, I left the farm to find Kyra, since she** is** Arlene's mother," he had to stop when Johnny said, "Ain't never been a mother before."

"Johnny. Daryl and Jesse are here because they are the acting parents. I'm sorry, but I will ask you to leave," Rick warned.

"Ain't gonna happen," Johnny promised. He looked over at me an I nodded. Rick was a good man but I weren' gonna let him take Johnny outta the room.

"Anyway, I left the farm to go find her and I did. It took me three weeks but I found her in a bar outside of town. Her car was outside and she was with some of her friends from before." Jesse snorted an I reckoned the bitch had the same kinda friends as Merle did when he was alive. "She and I left them to get back on the road back to the farm but we were cut off by a herd of walkers and we were chased south. It took us a month to be able to turn back. We lost most of the group that was with us and we finally separated from Tim when we turned back and he didn't."

"Tim O'Reilly?" Jesse spoke up. "You found Kyra with Tim O'Reilly and I'm expected to let my baby girl near her. She probably has diseases worse than the walker virus."

"Jesse, it's their turn to speak," Rick said 'gain. I knew he didn' have the heart to kick us out, no matter how many warnins he had to give to us. She glared at him real good like she did when she was glarin' at me or Johnny fer talkin' bad round Lil Bit, but she was quiet so dumbfuck could keep talkin.

"Anyway, we turned back and started making our way to the farm but you weren't there. We looked for you for months but, when winter set in, we stumbled upon Woodbury and ended up there. We only planned to stay until winter ended. We looked for you as much as we could, Jesse. We tried. I swear we tried. Now we just want Arlene back in our lives. We've spent every day worrying about her being safe and I've always told Kyra that if she was with you, she would be safe because you'd never let anything happen to her. That you'd take care of her and do what was best. And, Jesse, right now, what is best is to let us back into our daughter's life."

Jesse stared at 'em long an hard 'fore she looked at Rick an asked, "Can I speak now, Officer Friendly?"

Rick looked pretty damn surprised at Jesse lettin' Merle's nickname roll offa her tongue. Made me laugh a lil an the dumbfucks glared at us. He said real quick, "You can go ahead now, Jesse."

"Good. Thank you. Now, Eric, you're a total fucking liar. By that time line, you would have gotten to the farm as we were leaving or right after we left. Johnny and I left a map in the living room. On the table. With a sign that said, 'Eric, find us here. We're safe.' Then, we traveled to a town fifteen minutes away and shacked up in a house. When we left that house, we left a note that said, 'Where you first kissed me.' Do you remember that, Eric? Do you remember where you first kissed me?"

Didn' like that an she knew it. I could feel my hand move up to my mouth an start rubbin' at my lip. Jesse looked over at me an grabbed my hand while dumbfuck answered, "The attic of my house. You asked me where Arlene's swim stuff was because you were taking her to the pool at your college. You just found out she couldn't swim."

"Exactly. And in the attic of the house, we left supplies and a map, with our next location on it. We did this 36 times until we arrived here. Thirty six fuckin' times!" Jesse was startin' to get louder. She was comin' up outta her seat like her ass was on fire an she was leanin' cross the table, smackin' it wit the hand the weren' holdin' mine. "An we came back to some of the houses an found that there were supplies missin'! Thirty six fuckin' times, you lousy piss poor excuse fer a human being! You knew where we were an ya didn' come to get yer daughter! Ya didn' come back to help us! So don't fuckin' tell me that it's in Arlene's best interest to have ya back in her life because it's fuckin not an I'll be damned if ya take my lil girl away from me!"

"Jesse! Nobody is taking Arlene from you," Rick reminded her.

"That's fucking right!" Johnny shouted, jumping up to stand by his sister. I had to come up outta my seat too an we kinda glared at the dumbfucks on the other side of the table.

"Alright, Johnny, Daryl, out!" Rick ordered. "You clearly can't be in here!"

"About fucking time, you redneck piece of shit office-uh!" Bitch chimed in. Jesse pulled her gun outta the back a her pants an Rick reached out an grabbed it from her real quick. He tucked it down the back a his pants.

"You too! Go. All three of you. Out in the hallway. Arlene and Eric and I are going to settle this once and for all and I will not repeat myself again. Jesse isn't going to lose Arlene and we're not going to keep her parents out of her life. Now go!"

"Fuck that!" Johnny an I said at the same time.

"Now!" Rick shouted.

We got shoved into the hallway with the bitch an Johnny warned, "Don't care if yer a girl or not, I will feed ya to the fuckin' walkers if my niece isn't okay."

The bitch turned real pale an scurried to the other end of the hallway. Johnny an I looked at each other an then sat down across from the door, starin' at it an waitin' for Jesse to come out.


	3. Chapter 3

This is the last of the erratic posting. After this, the schedule will remain the same throughout this installment. Every Friday or sometimes Saturday, unless the reviews are super sweet, in which random days will be thrown in to reward my incredible followers.

I walked out of the room tired and the first thing that happened was Daryl Dixon and my brother jumping up to grab me. I didn't wait for them to ask. I just sighed, "They get to see her for an hour a day with one of us around until she's comfortable enough around them for unsupervised visits. The plan is to eventually share her but she stays with us for now."

"She's always gonna be with us," Daryl promised, yanking on my hand so I would look at him. "Don' matter if she gets comfy wit the dumbfucks or not. Now we gotta get us an office room cleared out 'fore everybody takes 'em. Johnny, ya an Beth need to get a cell set up like a bedroom an not a damn jail cell. Help ya saw the bunks in half later. We'll figure out somethin' fer Lil Bit even if she'll be sleepin' wit us most nights. Child oughta have a choice."

I stared up at the redneck I seemed to have acquired. It was shocking how Daryl had gone from the man who never spoke to us, the man I wanted to kill, to the man that my little girl called her Poppa. He was becoming downright domesticated and it warmed my heart. Getting Eric to put together a toddler bed for Arlene had been hell. Daryl was volunteering to rig something so that Arlene would have a bed. He looked down at me and caught me staring and ordered, "Quitcher fuckin' starin' at me, woman. We got shit to do today. Can' be havin' Lil Bit livin' in a damn cell. Fuckin' thinkin' she's a prisoner or somethin'."

The door to the office behind me opened again and Daryl's piercing blue eyes slid from my face to glare over my shoulder as Kyra made her way down the hallway. I didn't look. I knew what was happening. She was throwing her arms around Eric's shoulders and crying. He was burying his face in her hair and murmuring to her. Once, before the end of the world, Arlene fell out of a tree when she was with Kyra. She broke her arm and had to be rushed to the hospital. I went there straight from class and made it before Eric. I was there holding the little girl's hand while her mother cried and was fucking useless in the corner. Yet, when Eric came in, it was Kyra he went to. Kyra he held in his arms and comforted, while I took care of Arlene. But it wasn't that way anymore. I didn't need Eric to have my little girl and I knew Daryl didn't give two shits about another woman when it was hard for him to care about me in any way in the first place.

I grabbed his shirt and tugged at it, drawing his attention to mine. I whispered, "Don't pay any attention to them. Arlene is our family."

He grunted and agreed, "Ya an Lil Bit, yer my family."

"What 'bout me, fucker?" Johnny teased from beside us.

"I fuckin' guess ya are if ya gotta be," Daryl growled, rolling his eyes and pulling at my hands. "C'mon, ya lil fuckin' psycho. I picked us out a office already. Big nuff fer the three of us an all ya an Lil Bit's stuff. Plus room to get her some more. Settin' up Judith a room too, near to Carol so we needa get a move on. Can' be lollygaggin' 'round here."

I nodded and he surprised me by leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to my lips, one so quick I almost doubted its existence until I looked over at Johnny and watched him raise his eyebrows at me. It only lasted a second before Daryl grabbed my hands again and dragged me down the hallway. He wasn't kidding when he said that we had things to do. He fully planned to make me work and he did.

He had me cleaning out an office and scrubbing it down while Beth took Arlene and Judith outside to play. Glenn and Maggie guarded while Rick and Carol worked with the new members of our prison group. There were a bunch of children and I knew that Carol wanted me to help her but Rick told her that I wasn't allowed near the other group until I could behave. Daryl and Johnny worked moving beds and sawing them in half so that we'd have extra beds for everybody. It was a slow process but my redneck was working hard at it.

I was moving a desk against a wall for our clothes and for some of Arlene's things when I heard the quiet shuffle of footsteps behind me. I looked up as Daryl put a box of Arlene's things on the desk by the door. He asked, "We really need two desks?"

"I figure we need a place for mine and Arlene things and a place for yours."

"Uh-uh," he growled, "Lil Bit don' needa be diggin' through yer stuff. Ya an me kin share a place an Lil Bit kin keep her stuff in her own place. She'll be needin' it when we go gettin' her more stuff. Don' be arguin' wit me either."

"You want to share a dresser?"

"Fuck why not? Already sharin' a room an a place to live wit ya. Can' get any more damn committed than that, kin I?"

I laughed and shrugged before turning back to scrubbing the dirt off the desk. I had cleared out a space in the middle of the room for our bed and I planned to box it in with one of the dressers so that people coming in wouldn't see us sleeping. I knew Daryl liked his privacy when he was cuddling. A second later, I felt Daryl's hands slide around my waist and grasp the desk on either side of me, boxing me in. He buried his face in my neck.

"Ya know, never meant to leave things the way I did when I left to get Merle," he murmured against my skin. "Meant to come back an take care a ya right. Then everythin' happened. Don' wantcha thinkin' 'm an asshole."

"I already think that," I teased. He smirked against my neck and pressed a kiss below my ear. I leaned back into his arms.

"Ain't gotta be runnin' off after nobody, yer brother ain't spectin' me back fer a while, an Beth's got Lil Bit."

"Is that so? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Means I ain't gotta try to rush. I kin touch ya an stuff like ya oughta be touched."

"What about getting the office set up?"

"Won' hurt to take a break. Plus yer lookin' awful hot in all them clothes. Can' be havin' ya havin' a heat stroke an what not. Better get ya outta those." I was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. His hands came up off the table and ran down my arms until they came to rest at my hips. His fingers made their way between the hem of my shirt and the waist of my shorts. He stroked the skin there softy.

"What about yours?" I asked, trying to keep the smile off my face. I knew Daryl would retreat if he thought I was laughing at him.

"Mine'r fine right now. Needa get ya outta yers."

He spun me around and grabbed my thighs quickly to lift my ass up onto the table. My legs settled over his hip bones and his lips crashed down on mine. His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me flush against his body. His hands traveled under my shirt and up my back while he kissed me long and hard. His hand made its way up to my face and around to my hair, grasping my braid in his hand and yanking my head back to open me up further to him. His other hand pulled me tighter so he could press himself into my core. He was already hard and straining against his pants.

"Daryl, we don't have **that** much time," I moaned as his lips moved down from mine and to my neck. God did that man know what to do with a neck. His teeth nipped and teased right before his tongue brushed over it, soothing the reddened skin. He growled, "Shuddup. Take as much time as I damn well need to get things done right this time."


	4. Chapter 4

He pulled away from me so he could yank my shirt up over my head and toss it aside. His lips found my collar bone and the tops of my breasts. My bra followed quickly and he stopped a second to whistle lowly. He murmured, "Damn, woman. Could look at that all damn day."

I wriggled against him, urging him to just fucking touch me. That piecing stare was driving me nuts. The way his tongue worked over his lower lip and his right hand opened and closed at my hip was driving me mad. It was anticipation. I wasn't sure that Daryl knew that. I wasn't sure that he knew much of anything about being in a relationship or taking care of a woman, other than pure, raw, dirty sex, but he was driving me nuts. I commanded, "Daryl, just touch me. Please, just fucking touch me!"

He didn't need to be asked again. His right hand found my right breast and his mouth found my left breast. While his hand massaged and plucked at one nipple, his tongue swirled around the other and the scruff on his face rubbed against the sensitive flesh around it, making my hips jump of their own accord, pressing myself further into him. He muttered, "Hol' still. Can' think straight ya movin' like that an I'm tryin' to do somethin' here."

"You can do something a little further south," I hinted with no sense of subtlety.

"Nah. Like what 'm doin' now. Gonna keep doin' this fer a few more minutes."

I rolled my eyes as he went back to his task but soon it wasn't annoyance that had my eyes rolling. It was his fingers, his lips, his tongue. I reached between us and scrambled with the button of his jeans, ripping at them. He brushed my hands away and snapped, "Damn it, woman. Ain't ya got no patience?"

I glared at him and moved up to pulling his shirt off. When we had sex before it was fast and rough and he'd only shoved his pants down to his ankles. He yanked his head away from my chest and sighed, "Ain't likin' that none, Jesse an ya know I don'. Quit whatchur doin'."

"I'm going to get you shirtless, Daryl. Whether you like it or not."

"Damn it, Jesse, fuckin'…"

At that point, I managed to get his plaid shirt unbuttoned and shoved open. I pressed hot, open mouthed kisses to his scarred chest. I figured that he hated those scars that decorated his body but I didn't care. Daryl Dixon was the sexiest man I'd ever seen in my life, with or without scars, and I was going to get his damn shirt off so I could worship his body like he was worshipping mine. He moaned quietly when I ran my tongue over his nipple quickly. He shuddered and I nipped his chest. His head fell backwards and he growled deep from somewhere low in his body. His hand slid from my breast to the waist of my shorts and he started fumbling with the button there. He finally managed to pop it open while I continued pressing hot, wet kisses to his chest. His other hand found my chest and shoved me backwards a little roughly. I found myself sprawled on my back on the desk with Daryl's hand shoved down the front of my shorts and his mouth at my breasts again.

He wasted no time in getting those fingers inside me and I couldn't control my body's reaction. I rocked against his hand, trying to gain more contact. I didn't just want his fingers. I wanted him. All of him. I moaned, "Daryl, please. Just, please."

He grunted, ignoring my request while his fingers crooked upwards, finding that rough patch within me and making me bite down on my lip. He didn't stop until my back was arching off the desk and his mouth had to smash down on mine to control the scream ripping out of my throat. He slowly pulled away from me when I stopped shaking and asked, "Ya alright?"

I barely recognized my own voice when I snarled, "Pants off, now, Dixon."

He pulled away and grabbed the bottom of my shorts to rip them off, ignoring the work boots that still decorated my feet. I watched him yank his boots off quickly and his pants followed. He looked up to catch my eyes dragging down his body hungrily. He commanded, "Ya gotta take yer fuckin' boots off. Don' want those catchin' on my ass."

I sat up so I could untie my boots and drop them on the concrete floor with a heavy thud. Daryl was between my legs again as soon as they dropped and one hand found its way to my hair while the other grasped my lower back, yanking me tight to his body. My hands made their way around his waist, grasping at the back and catching on the scars that littered his worn skin. He said softly, "Ain't gonna be fast this time, ya got me, woman? So don' be tryin' that shit."

I laughed and leaned forward so I could press my lips to his as he slid into me so slow I felt like I was going to pass out with the waiting. Finally, he was fully seated inside of me and my breath caught in my throat at the fullness. Daryl moved his mouth away from mine and buried his face in my shoulder. His breath was coming in quick pants and I knew that he wouldn't last long. He couldn't help it and I couldn't help the wriggle that rolled down my body as I desperately tried to get some friction moving between us. His hand clasped my hip almost painfully and he growled, "God, fuckin' hold still, Jesse. Can' fuckin' think right now an I can' have ya movin' 'round makin' it worse. Fuckin'. Hold. Still. Jus till I kin catch my fuckin' breath."

It seemed like forever before his hips jerked forward. I could tell he was trying to be slow and careful with me but he could barely reign himself in. He sank into me, slowly pulled back, and jerked forwards again. His head moved from my neck so that his forehead was resting against mine. Those damned blue eyes stared deep into my eyes as he thrust again and again. He whispered, "Ain't gonna be able to hold on, Jesse. Sorry. Can' fuckin' hold on."

"Daryl," I whimpered, "just let go. I'm fine."

"Do the thing ya did last time. Touch yerself."

My hand slipped between us and found my clit. As I brushed my fingers over it, Daryl moaned and started thrusting faster and harder, filling me up. I knew he was seconds away and I rubbed faster, begging my body to just let go, and then I snapped. My head flew backwards and Daryl's hands clasped hard on my hips as he followed me. Daryl fell against me, shoving me back on the desk and collapsing on top of me. His hips jerked on their own accord as aftershocks raced through my body. Finally, we were still. I murmured, "Wow."

"Ya said that when ya kissed me," he breathed against my chest.

"It applies to both situations."

He chuckled and pulled himself off me slowly. I couldn't move. My bones were jelly. He sighed, "Come on now, woman. Got more shit to do today an I don' reckon they're gonna let us be much longer."

I extended my hand and he helped me up. We got dressed in silence, neither of us mentioning what had just happened. That wasn't Daryl's style. Finally, he grunted, "Looks good in here. Lil Bit's gonna like it. Nice fer her to have some space. We get her a bed next time we go out. Gotta go out soon fer supplies an huntin' anyway."

I nodded and he leaned forward to press a quick kiss to my lips. He informed me, "Come get ya fer dinner if yer not done 'fore then. If ya get done, go play wit Lil Bit."

He turned and left and I smiled after him. He was emotionally stunted, but he was mine.


	5. Chapter 5

Knew I was starin' but didn' care much. Jesse was walkin' infronta me wit Lil Bit on her hip, ticklin' her an laughin' an leadin' us to our new room. Our room. Never shared a place with a woman 'fore. I knew me an Jesse'd been sharin' a bed but it weren' nothin' to the thought we had a room to ourselves. Knew nothin' like earlier that day'd be happenin' causea Lil Bit an stuff but was still nice. Merle'd call me a dumb fuck, tell me I was gettin' doh-mestee-cayted. But didn' really matter. Jus knew bein' round Jesse an Lil Bit didn' make me feel like I weren' worth nothin'.

Followed Jesse an Lil Bit to the room where I dragged our bed in earlier. I really just stripped a coupla mattresses offa one of the cell bunks an dragged 'em to the room. I knew it got crowded on just one mattress cause a the way Lil Bit sprawled out like she did. Jesse showed Lil Bit all the stuff in the room while I stripped my boots off an fixed the blankets and pillows on the bed. Jesse looked down at the mess an informed me, "Next time we take a trip, we need to raid a hotel. Get us some more blankets and pillows. It may be June now but it won't be forever and we need to forage for the good stuff before some stragglers clean out the towns close to us. Preemptive action."

"Preemptive," Lil Bit repeated slowly. "What's that mean, Jezze Momma?"

"It means before we have to, baby girl."

"Oh." She nodded real slow like she was lettin' it roll round in her head an Jesse put her down on a desk so she could help Lil Bit outta her boots. I said, "Needa get her some new boots too. An some winter clothes. Too lil to be cold. Plus we got all them other kids now. Gotta get a lotta kid stuff."

"How many children are there?" Jesse asked without looking over her shoulder at me.

"'bout ten. Give or take a few. Didn' get a headcount. Not too many but still a messa them that don' have mommas or daddies. Think Rick wants us to start lookin in on 'em."

"He wants **you** to play daddy to more children." At that one she tilted her head back over her shoulder an gave me that big ol' grin that just lit her up.

"Turns out, I'mma good daddy," I answered gruffly.

"You're a great daddy, Poppa Daryl," Lil Bit perked up. "The best daddy ever. You always come back when you say you will and you play the best games and you can count!"

"Hear that, Dixon, somebody thinks you can count," Jesse teased.

I rolled my eyes an walked over to snatch up Lil Bit away from Jesse. I warned, "Ya don' get to sleep in the bed if yer mean. Ya can sleep on the floor. Me an Lil Bit will take the bed."

"Like Hell you will," she said back real quick.

"Mouth," Lil Bit an me said at the same time. She laughed but it made me stop fer a second. Was weird what my life come to. Few months 'fore, I was barely carin' to get by. Takin' care a me an Carol an the rest of the group but keepin' my distance. Weren' barely lettin' Carol touch me, focusin' on takin' care a everybody else, maybe findin' my brother, stayin' alive. Then Jesse an her lil baby girl an her lanky brother came roarin' into my life hollerin' an not stoppin' fer a single second to let me catch my breath. An there I was in the middle of it with a baby on my hip, standin' barefoot watchin' my woman pull all that long, dark hair outta that braid she liked to keep it in. Noticin' the change made me a lil uncomfortable an my chest felt tight, like I couldn' breathe. Then, Lil Bit leaned forward an whispered, "You really are the best daddy in the whole wide world, Poppa Daryl. No matter what else. You're my poppa."

I cleared my throat an said back, "An it's time fer ya to get to bed. Ya gotta meet some new people tomorrow."

"Jezze Momma said I gotta meet my other mommy and daddy. I didn't know I had another mommy and daddy. I don't need them. Maybe we can give them to somebody who does."

I chuckled an said, "Don' worry, Lil Bit. Me an yer momma gonna be wit ya the whole time. Yer gonna spend a coupla hours with them but me an yer momma gonna be there."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Jesse walked over an sat down on the bed an I sat down next to her an we lay Lil Bit down in between us an Jesse told her a story 'bout some kinda spider in a spout an then they drifted off to sleep. An I sat up an watched 'em, thinkin' 'bout my new role in life an the new way I was livin'.

Next day, I talked with Carol 'bout what kinda stuff we needed from town while Jesse an Lil Bit showered. Team was planned as me an Johnny with Jesse stayin' behind to watch Lil Bit while we were gone. Coulda asked the dumbfucks to watch her but I didn' trust 'em none.

Carol an I made a list an then I helped her feed Lil Asskicker so Beth could get a break. Carol said the poor girl had gotten sick that mornin', somethin' 'bout the heat in the air but the look Johnny gave me said it didn' have nothin' to do with the heat in the air an had more to do with a Lil Johnny croppin' up in her. Girl was barely seventeen an gonna be havin' a baby. Knew her sister an Hershel'd be tannin' Johnny's hide when they finally found it in 'em to tell 'em.

When Lil Bit an Jesse came out, they were both scrubbed clean an Jesse's hair was down round her shoulders. She didn' never wear it down like that. Always had it in that damn braid that was so hard to get my fingers into. But she had it down an she was smilin' at Lil Bit on her hip an she looked up at me an she smiled at me too an I felt a weird tinglin' all over my body. I asked, "What're we gonna do today?"

"We have to meet with the idiots this morning for at least an hour, Rick's orders. But then you need to work with Michonne on a plan to fix the gate and I'm going to meet some of the other children to try to get them settled in."

"Gonna play momma?"

"Watch it, Dixon, or I'll bring a whole mess of them back with me and then you can play daddy to them all."

I glared at her an Lil Bit wriggled outta her arms to come over to me. She climbed up me like she did an asked, "Are we going to get a baby, Poppa Daryl? How old are you? Are you too old to have a baby? How old is too old for us to have a baby?"

I knew I was turnin' red but I couldn' be answerin' those questions fer a lil girl. I looked up at Jesse an Carol an both those bitches were laughin' at me. I snarled at 'em an put Lil Bit down on the ground. I knelt down to look her in the eyes an I knew I was a lil hard when I said it but I couldn' be talkin' bout shit like that. I said, "Lil Bit, I can' be tellin' ya those things, alright? Ya can' be askin' bout those sorts a things til yer older an taller an stuff. Even then, don' be askin' boys. Ya hear me? Boys are lil as…."

"Daryl," Jesse warned.

"Butt heads," I corrected, glarin' at her. Nother fuckin' thing different 'bout my life. Couldn' cuss whenever the fuck I wanted to. Had to play like I was on fuckin' Sesme Street. I stood up quick an brushed my hands off on my pants. Needed washin' 'gain. Jesse noticed an ordered, "Tomorrow, wear your other pants and I'll wash those tomorrow. I'll have to wash all of your clothes separate so we can avoid whatever dead things are on them."

I wanted to be pissed off fer her touchin' my shit but I couldn' cause I never had no one takin' care a me like she did. I knew what Merle woulda said to me. Told me I was fuckin' gettin' soft an lettin' my woman take over my damn life. I jus watched her pick Lil Bit up an settle her on her hip an order, "Come on, Dixon. Let's go deal with these idiots."

She moved Lil Bit to her back an I followed her out. The dumbfucks were already sittin' out there at a table somebody had moved out there an the fucker was sittin' with his arm 'round the bitch's shoulders. Lil Bit asked, "Is that my other mommy and daddy?"

Jesse nodded. We walked over an bitch jumped up to try an hollered, "Eddie! My little Arlene Edith! Come to Mommy!"

Lil Bit clung to Jesse an stared at the bitch. She asked, "Is that my other mommy, Jesse Momma?"

"I'm your only mommy, Eddie. Now, come here. Come to mommy."

"No."

Bitch was shocked. I laughed. Fucker joined us an asked, "What's going on?"

"She won't come to me, Eric. She won't come to her mommy." Bitch looked like she was thinkin' 'bout cryin'.

"She don' know ya," I growled. "Can' be spectin' her to go to a stranger."

Bitch's attention turned on me an she hollered, "I wouldn't be a stranger if it weren't for that…"

"Watch your mouth around Arlene," Jesse growled. "You'll learn to live by the rules we live by. Even Daryl follows the rules."

"Well, let's sit down and talk about it," fucker said. We followed him to the table. Outside a the gate, walkers were moanin' an reachin', rattlin' the fence. Knew we'd have to get the main gate fixed so that we'd have the yard. Knew we needed it fer crops an fer the kids to play in. Kids couldn' be trapped up all the damn time. Jesse put Lil Bit on her lap an she reached over an held my hand. Dumbfucks glared at us. Her lil hand fit right into mine. Nice an neat.

"Hello, Arlene. Do you know who I am?" fucker asked.

She squinted her lil blue eyes an tilted her head to the side, starin' at him all weird, like she was tryin' to figure it out. Finally, she said, "Kinda. You left me and Jesse Momma at a farm. You were my daddy."

"I still am your daddy, sweetheart," fucker said back. "That didn't change just because I left."

"No," Lil Bit said stubbornly. "I got a daddy. Kinda. He's my Poppa Daryl. But Jesse Momma and Poppa Daryl said there's kids don't have mommies and daddies. Maybe you could go be their mommy and daddy."

"But we want to be your mommy and daddy," fucker said back.

Lil Bit sighed like she was talkin' to the dumbest fucker in the world an said, "Yeah but I got a Momma and Poppa and other kids don't."

"Arlene, Jesse and Daryl aren't your real parents," bitch said.

Lil Bit stared at them fer a long time 'fore she looked up at us an said real serious, "They tuck me in at night. And Poppa Daryl taught me my letters. I had an uncle knife hand, before he had to leave. He was Poppa Daryl's brother. And Uncle Johnny is Jesse's brother. They don't let me get eaten by monsters. And they play in the mud with me. They're my Momma and Poppa."

"They took care of you, but they're not your **real **parents," fucker tried to say again.

Lil Bit looked up at me an I said, "Ain't blood to ya."

"Well, I know that," she snapped back. I gave her a look. She was a smart kid but she shoulda known better than to try to be snappin' at me or Jesse. When I gave her that look, she kinda frowned up at me like she knew she was doin' somethin' she shouldn'ta been doin'. I reached over an shook her hair a lil. Fucker caught the motion an said, "You shouldn't leave her hair down like that, Jesse. It looks ratty."

"She's fine," Jesse growled. "It's a beautiful day. Neither of us are in danger so it's down for once."

"Looks fine when it ain't in a braid." Don' know why I said it. Didn' usually say shit like that 'bout women. Usually jus ignored that stuff 'bout 'em.

"Well, she's not really your daughter, now is she?" Bitch snapped.

I shut my mouth but Jesse weren' gonna let it go. She snarled, "Actually, she is our daughter. And now **we **will be taking **our **daughter somewhere else so that **we** can go do other things."

"Wait, we shouldn't be rude to you," fucker said real quick. "You're right. You took care of her. We shouldn't criticize what you did in order to care for her. Even if it means shacking up with some guy twenty years older than you."

"One, it's none of your business. Two, Daryl isn't twenty years older than me. Three, I didn't _shack up_ with Daryl. What he and I are is none of your business." The snarl that woman was lettin' loose coulda peeled the hide offa deer. She'da gone huntin' like that an things woulda dropped dead in fronta her without an argument.

"Well how old is he then? Shouldn't we know something about the man going to be around our daughter?" Apparently was the bitch's turn to talk again.

"He's…." She didn' know how old I was. She didn' know nuff 'bout me to be tellin' 'em anythin'. We hadn't never talked 'bout that shit. Weren' important when everythin' started with us.

"Thirty five." Not even Carol or none of 'em from the quarry knew that 'bout me. There I was tellin' strangers 'bout me when Carol didn' even know none of it. That woman was turnin' me somethin' fuckin' bad. Changin' shit 'bout me.

"Oh my god, Jesse," bitch laughed. "He was fifteen when you were born."

"Fourteen," I snapped. "She ain't twenty. Jus had a birthday."

"God, Jesse. Did the end of the world make you desperate?"

"Jesse, a rebound isn't something that should be taken lightly," fucker said.

I got up quick. Jesse said my name but I didn' pay her no attention. I jus walked off. I could hear her behind me, railin' at 'em. Carryin' on a few minutes 'fore I couldn' hear 'em no more. I went to talk to Rick an Glenn an I didn' see her 'gain till dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

"Daryl," I cleared my throat and he stared up at me, his piercing blue eyes still pissed off from earlier that day. He hadn't talked to me and Arlene all day. I wanted to stab Eric in his throat for that. "Johnny and Beth said they'd watch Arlene for us. Will you check me for ticks? I know you've been out today. I'll check you too."

He nodded without talking. His eyes dropped from mine and returned to the plate of food he was shoveling into his mouth. He knew that it was my way of getting him alone to talk to him about what happened earlier that day. After dinner, I kissed Arlene on top of the head and handed her to Johnny. Daryl ruffled her hair. We made our way to our bedroom and he leaned against the desk while I slid my clothes off. When I looked up at him, he was chewing on his thumbnail. It was a ridiculous habit of his but I knew he only did it when he didn't know what to do.

"How ya think ya got any ticks on ya?" he finally said gruffly. "Ya haven't been out in the fields or nothin'."

"Just got an itch, Dixon."

"Don' be fuckin' lyin'. Know ya jus wanna holler at me 'bout earlier." I looked over my shoulder at him and found his gaze on the floor. I turned and walked over to him. He looked up at me when I put my hands on his chest.

"I'm not going to yell at you, Daryl," I promised. "I just want to know what's had you pissed off all day."

"Weren' mad at ya."

"Well you certainly weren't talking to me. Me or Arlene."

He shrugged and his mouth still worked busily at pulling apart his thumbnail. I reached up and put my hand over his. I pulled his hand away from his mouth. I asked, "You know you aren't a rebound, right? Whatever it is between us, it isn't a rebound. You aren't a replacement."

"Fourteen years."

"What?"

"Fourteen years 'tween us. Ya didn' know that till today."

"So what? I don't really think age matters."

"So ya don' know nothin' 'bout me. How'd ya know if 'm a replacement if ya don' know nothin' 'bout me?"

"Because a replacement means I'm looking for the same thing I lost. You are nothing like Eric and I'm glad you aren't, Daryl."

"Course I ain't like that fucker." His face twisted in a grimace and I leaned up on my tiptoes to press a small kiss to his lips. He jerked backwards with a snarl on his face. "Ya ain't gonna figure nothin' out if ya keep that shit up."

"Well what do you want me to do then, Dixon? Do you want me to go out and fuck a few other men? Will that help you understand that you're not a rebound? I mean, I don't know where I'd find them. I'll have to go out and track them. I'm sure that will scream sex appeal. I'll just stumble upon their camp after days in the woods following them, snap my fingers, and order them to follow me. Don't know where I'd take them either, sharing a room with you and my little girl. It'll be a little bit of a cock block to come back with you in here, but I guess I could find somewhere…"

"Don' fuckin' talk like that."

"Then don't be fucking doubting my decisions. If I thought you were a rebound, I wouldn't be letting you near my little girl."

"So what? Ya gonna take Lil Bit from me?" His snarl was only getting worse. I should have figured that Daryl wouldn't react well to talking.

"I'm not taking Arlene from you, you stupid fucking redneck. I wouldn't do that to you. What does it take to prove to your dumb ass that you're not a fucking rebound?"

"Ya don' know shit 'bout me."

"Then tell me shit about you," I commanded. "God, what is up with you today? It's like you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and you've been weird all day! You think I haven't seen it? It's like a part of you keeps holding stuff back. What is up with you today?"

He just stared at me for a long moment until I was sure that he wasn't going to answer but he didn't push me away. He just stared at me. He finally spat out, "Yer fuckin' fiancé's back now."

"What?"

"Fucker. What's his face. He's back now."

"So what? He doesn't matter, Daryl!"

"But…"

I sighed and growled, "Shut up for a second. Close your eyes and shut up."

"Don' be tryin' nothin', Jesse."

"I'm not going to try anything, Daryl. Just close your damn eyes." He shut up and shut his eyes so I could continue to talk. "Okay, imagine you're in a bar, before the end of the world happened. Before everything happened. I can see you in a bar after work. What did you do for work before the world ended?"

"Construction an sometimes cars."

"So you would be filthy. Probably wearing a sleeveless shirt because you seem to have a weird affinity for them. You'd be in your mud caked boots and filthy jeans. Probably still dirt smeared from the day. Merle would be across the bar, hitting on some girl. You'd just be drinking your beer. I'm going to guess beer on nights you had work, Jack on weekends?"

"Jim," he corrected.

"So you're sitting there, drinking your beer and Merle's fucking with some girl just down the bar from you. Really ragging on her. He just won't leave her alone and she's trying to get her boyfriend's attention but he's down the bar from her, flirting with some other girl. And Merle's just really fucking with her hard. Talking dirty to her, trying to convince her to buy him more drinks, trying to get her to do shots with him, touching her, putting his hands on her, just really bothering her. And you hear her, knowing she's about to hit him, knowing that you have to step in before he gets thrown out. Again."

"Sounds like Merle."

"So you make your way down the bar to where they're standing, but not before she slaps him. Hard. And you know that Merle isn't going to take that well. He's already got his hand up, ready to smack the shit out of her and you're thinking that if he smacks some rich, mouthy bitch, she's going to press charges and he's going back to jail. So you get over there but not before she balls up her fist and swings on him. And you get in between them because you're an idiot," he grumbled in protest but kept his eyes closed. "And you take the hit to the face. Now open your eyes."

He opened his eyes and I said, "And when you look down, you're staring at me and you're pissed off and snarling like you do. And I think you're the hottest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. And you're really close like you get when you're pissed off, and you're pressed against me and I feel guilty because Eric is across the bar, but I don't feel guilty because he's flirting with some bubbly blonde and, by that time our relationship is almost over, I'm just sticking around for Arlene. So you're staring at me, and I'm staring at you. And then Merle makes some asshole comment and you make an asshole comment and you warn me about keeping my hands off of you and your brother."

He grunted and stared at me. I continued, "So the two of you leave and I go back to drinking my beer and putting up with Eric's shit and then, I get him to let me adopt Arlene, because he liked that I let him sleep with Kyra while I took care of Arlene. And, after he lets me adopt Arlene, I leave him. And a year later, I go back to that same bar, and you're in there, completely dirty and worn out from work, and that time, I'm not afraid to hit on you and flirt with you and get completely shut down by you."

"Nah," he said softly, "wouldn'ta shut ya down. Jus wouldn'ta known how to talk to ya."

"And I would have kept trying. I wouldn't have been able to go to the bar every week. But when I could, I would, until I finally managed to break past your exterior. Until I finally got you to smile. Then, you would have seen me out somewhere, holding Arlene on my hip and you would have been pissed, absolutely convinced that I was just trying to trap you into playing daddy."

"Wouldn'ta."

"You would have. Merle would have been whispering in your ear about how I just needed a daddy for my little girl."

He grunted again. "But, you would have eventually been curious and you would have asked me what I did to chase her daddy off. You would have been rude about it, very rude, because that's how you are. And I would have yelled at you, in front of a whole bar of people. And you would have snatched me up and taken me outside to yell at me, because I'm a girl and you hate yelling in front of people. And I would have kissed you. Because you have the kind of mouth that just needs to be kissed."

"That so?"

"That is definitely so, Daryl Dixon. And you wouldn't have been a rebound then. Just like you aren't a rebound now."

"So you'da wanted some trailer trash redneck with a methed out brother playin' daddy to yer lil girl?" He was trying to distance himself.

"I wouldn't want anybody else in the whole world to play daddy to my little girl," I replied.

"Fuckin' hate ya half the time, woman."

"But the other half the time?" Those words lingered between us, pulling at something that was far greater than ourselves.

"Don' wanna talk 'bout the other halfa the time."

"You are emotionally stunted, Daryl Dixon." I leaned up and pressed a feather light kiss to his lips. He grunted and I whispered, "But I'm glad you're with me. I'm glad you're Arlene's 'Poppa Daryl,' and I'm glad we have some alone time so you can check me for ticks."

"Ya ain't got no damn ticks."

"I don't know. I have a lot of skin you haven't looked over."

"Guess I can't have ya gettin' any of them diseases."


	7. Chapter 7

To my dearest fans, I appreciate each and every one of you. From the United States, to Russia, to Malaysia, and South Africa. Thank you for reading and thank you for being such great reviewers. Here's an early update for being amazing!

When we finished, we dressed in the low light of a lantern and Daryl asked, "Ya go see them babies today?"

"Yeah. There are eight kids. Five boys, three girls. Four toddlers, three girls and a little boy. Two boys around ten, and two boys around Carl's age. Right about to be teenagers. There's a little toddler boy named Lucas. Poor kid doesn't have anybody in the whole world."

Daryl's arms wrapped around my middle and his chin pressed into my shoulder. He asked, "We thinkin' 'bout gettin' another kid?"

"We can't just pick them out like they're lost puppies, Daryl," I sighed. "Plus, don't you have your hands full with Arlene and Judith?"

I felt him shrug and he answered, "Johnny said ya was always wantin' kids. Wouldn' kill us none to take care of one or two more, if ya want 'em."

I tilted my head back and rested it into the crook of his shoulder. He was warm and solid against me. I could have rested in his embrace forever. He continued, "Lil Bit was sayin' she wanted a siblin' today. Whatever ya want. I ain't gonna be domesticated or nothin'. 'm still gonna hunt an stuff an we gotta think real hard 'cause if we gotta leave real quick it'll be ya in the car with 'em an me on the bike."

"And if something happens to me?" I asked. "What then? Would you raise them?"

"Ain't nothin' gonna happen to ya. Ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya."

"And if it does? Will you take care of Arlene?"

"'m always gonna be takin' care of Arlene. An if ya decide to pick up a litter of other ones, take care a them too, 'kay?"

"You can be really sweet sometimes, Daryl Dixon. You watch that. I'll be thinking you care about me or something."

"Don' gotta say it fer me to do it."

"Let's go get Arlene. It's way past her bedtime."

God damn mother fuckin' women in that god damn mother fuckin' prison driving me up the god damn mother fuckin' wall. Tween Beth throwin' up everythin' in her stomach an tryin' to do it real quiet so her daddy wouldn' notice, an havin' to deal with the bitch that wanted to say she had all the right to Lil Bit, an keepin' an eye on Jesse so she didn' haul off an smack someone side their fool ass head, my headache was gettin' worse an worse. Been a week since those two dumbfucks got to the prison an they were 'bout to get fed to some fuckin' walkers. Was the fucker I was after. Bad as women. Always fuckin' runnin' his mouth an tryin' to get in good with Rick and the men. He was bout two shades a useless.

I was standin' by the fence with Lil Bit on my shoulders, watchin' her momma out in the yard climbin' the big fence so she could fix the gate. Rick an Glenn had her back an I'd been put on bitch duty. Really jus meant I was up top, watchin' an pickin' off any got close to her. Carol was in the guard tower doin' the same thin' an Tyreese an Maggie were out by the fence, holdin' up the gate that been broken off. Michonne was on the outside, keepin' a perimeter. We'd gone out earlier in the week an banged it back in some sorta shape. Good nuff shape to get it to fit 'gain. Jesse, the climber she was, got picked to climb that damn fence an hang like a damn monkey so she could zip tie the gate back to its slider.

"Jezze Momma's a good climber. She'll get it fixed up right and then we'll take mud baths again. Ain't that right, Poppa Daryl?"

"Don' let yer momma hear ya sayin' ain't, Lil Bit. Ya know she don' like it none."

I felt fucker near 'fore I saw him. He was creepin' to my side like he didn' think I knew he was there. Like he didn' think I knew he weren' supposed to be there. Him an the bitch got their hour in the mornin' with Lil Bit an it went same as the other six mornins. They smiled at her an talked 'bout her bein' a baby, an she was stubborn. Me an Jesse kept tellin' her she didn' have to do that fer us but that baby weren' gonna let 'em near her if she didn' have to.

"Shouldn't she be inside if you're going to be firing at walkers?" fucker spoke up after few minutes jus standin' there an starin'.

I shrugged an tilted my head up an to the side so I could look up at Lil Bit. I asked, "Ya scared, Lil Bit?"

"No. Jezze Momma says that walkers used to be people but they're not anymore, so it's okay to shoot them. But only in the head because even if they're monsters, they don't deserve to hurt."

I nodded an turned my attention back to where Jesse was still hangin' like a damn fool. She fell an that damned black boy didn' catch her, I'd tan his hide six ways to Sunday. Fucker spoke up 'gain, "Still shouldn't be letting her see it happen. She's just a little girl."

"Seen worse."

"I could take her. I'll keep her in the main yard here. Where you can see. We can play the hand game that the two of you always play. The clapping game," he offered.

I looked up at Lil Bit 'gain an asked, "Ya wanna go wit yer other daddy?"

"Do I gotta?"

"Not if ya don' want to. Won' hurt ya none though. Yer choice."

Her little face scrunched up an she looked over at fucker, studyin' him real serious. Finally, she asked, "What are we going to do, Eric Dad?"

"You can just call me daddy, Arlene."

"But I don't call Poppa Daryl 'daddy'."

I leaned back an grinned. I said, "Lil Bit, ya wanna go with him, ya kin. Don' worry too much 'bout it. I'ma watch fer yer momma."

"Gonna keep Jezze Momma safe."

"Safe an sound. Won' be lettin' nothin' happen to her."

"Promise?"

"By the skin on my teeth an the hair on my head."

I pulled her down an settled her on my hip so she could look me right in the eyes. She had the most serious lil blue eyes. Johnny said people could think she was mine, cause a them blue eyes an the way she got quiet an stuff. Plus she'd taken to bitin' on her lil thumbnail. Chewin' on it. Drove the bitch crazy but Jesse said wouldn' hurt the lil girl. She finally nodded at me an leaned forward to give me a kiss on the cheek. I put her on the ground an she looked over at fucker an warned him, "Ain't gonna hold your hand."

"Don' be sayin' ain't. Yer momma's gonna string me up in the tallest tree she kin find." She grinned up at me an headed over to the fucker, who was glarin' away at me, hatin' that Lil Bit would sit on my lap an hold my hand an sleep with me an Jesse at night but wouldn' even look at him.

I turned my attention to Jesse, watchin' Rick an Glenn takin' care a any walker got too close. There weren' too many. They were takin' care a my woman real good while she acted like a damn monkey. She was gettin' it done quick. Fixin' it up right. Damn, couldn' help thinkin' bout how good my woman was. Takin' care a stuff. Bein' able to hunt an take care a our lil girl an jus fix things but also jus doin' everythin'. Takin' care a stuff an jus bein' sexy.

Heard Johnny's limp 'fore I saw him. Leg was gettin' better but wasn' perfect yet. He came up 'side me an put his hands on the fence. He stared at his sister an said real slow, "Fuckin' daredevil. Wouldn' think she'd be a damn adrenaline junky at the end of the world."

"She used to run with Lil Bit on her back everyday. Figure she can handle this."

"Ya know, I used to offer to carry Arlene. Used to beg her to let me carry her so she wouldn' have to. Was scared to watch my sister kill over from exhaustion. But Jesse'd just smile at me an say the burden weren' too heavy. How she sees her. Ain't belongin' to Eric or Kyra. Her load to carry. Never shared it with me. But sharin' it with ya."

I grunted. Johnny said, "We're gonna tell Hershel tonight. Me an Beth. Feels weird havin' a baby when there are some that don' have parents."

"Yer sister's lookin' to fix 'em. Been with 'em ever day."

"She lookin' to take on another one? Jesse's always wanted bunches a babies."

"I don' know."

"Would ya care if it were what she wanted?"

"Nope." I didn' look at Johnny. "She wants more babies, we'll get 'em all. Wants me to play in the field with 'em when she gets the gate fixed. Think that's why she's gettin' it fixed fast as she kin."

"Think she's gonna adopt one?"

"Don' know. She ain't lookin' to replace Lil Bit. She don' want nobody thinkin' it's like that."

"Ya don' have to tell me 'bout my sister, Daryl. Know her pretty well. Bein' with her all my life an the like."

I shrugged an stood there real quiet. He asked, "Ya think Hershel's gonna kill me?"

"Nah. Gonna need ya 'round fer when that baby comes out stubborn as shit an ready to do somethin' stupid."

"It's a girl, Beth wants to name it Annette. Boy, she wants to name it Shawn."

"Name a her momma an her brother."

"Know. She told me 'bout it. We first got here, we talked, all the time. Was all we did when I was holed up. Her family, my family. Jesse, my dad, my grandpa. When ya'll first got to the farm. Think I might know more 'bout ya then Jesse does sometimes."

"Weren' round Beth much."

"Told me how hard ya worked to save that lil girl. Sophia. Told me how good ya were to Carol."

"Didn' end up savin' that lil girl. Got bit 'fore we found her."

"Ya cared 'bout her. What kept me from worryin' when ya started showin' interest in Jesse.

"Didn' stop ya from bitin' my damn head off when I got back. Bout near killed me with that glare ever time got near her."

He shrugged an said, "Thought ya were gonna pull an Eric. Thought ya were gonna leave her 'gain. Couldn' let my sister get broken twice."

"Woulda been three times if I'da left twice."

He shook his head an said, "Didn' break when Eric left. Killed her when ya left. Didn' say nothin' bout it, but it did. Thank ya fer comin' back."

"Ain't like that fucker." I nodded over where fucker was listenin' to Lil Bit lecture him on right way to play the clappin' game. Was a pattern to it. It pissed Lil Bit off real bad if it weren' played right.

"See yer lettin' Arlene near him."

"Ain't my right to keep him away. Know I'd be pissed off someone kept her way from me. Let Lil Bit make her choice. She coulda stayed her with me or gone play the game with him. She wanted to play an I won' be blamin' her fer it."

He chuckled an said, "Yer keepin' a close eye on 'em. Pretendin' yer not, but I see ya lookin' over at 'em. Makin' sure she's safe. If ya an Jesse take in another one, whatja want?"

"Lil boy she likes. Needin' a daddy an a momma. Said he's takin' a likin' to her too but she feels guilty cause she says it ain't like pickin' a puppy out at a pet shop."

"Careful. Ya let her an ya'll have a mess a children sleepin' in yer bed."

"Jesse's choice."

At the gate, she fixed the last tie an started climbin' down. Gate was shut tight 'fore I fired twice, takin' out the last two walkers millin' round. Watched Rick cuff it shut an check it 'fore they started checkin' the walkers round on the ground, makin' sure none of 'em were still movin'. I looked over at Johnny an said, "Never thought much on kids. Figured if it was gonna happen, jus would. But Lil Bit's my lil girl an any other kid Jesse wants to take in, that'll be mine too."

He laughed an said, "Daryl Dixon, daddy extraordinaire."

"Shuddup."

Group made their way inside an Jesse came to me drenched in sweat. Lil shirt she was wearin' was drippin', clingin' to her. Could see Tyreese's eyes draggin' on her an fucker's eyes on her too. She came up to me, almost chest to chest an grinned at me. She said, "We have a big area again! It's not too late for a small garden. And the kids will have plenty of room. Isn't it beautiful?"

"Smell like horse shit, woman." I shrugged outta my jean vest an put it round her, coverin' some a her up. She smiled at me an asked, "That it, Dixon? Smell like horse shit, do I?"

"Yep. Figure my jacket make ya smell a lil better. Ya won' smell near as bad."

"Now I wouldn't want to rank up your jacket, Daryl." She grinned wicked at me an I knew the damn woman knew she was teasin' me. Always teasin' me.

"Leave it on, ya lil fuckin' psycho. Wings look good on ya. Fuckin' saint a the children."

She laughed an Lil Bit ran over, hittin' her in the legs. Jesse scooped her up an groaned. She said, "Baby girl, you are getting big. Poppa Daryl's been feeding you too good. You're going to have to go back to squirrels and crickets."

Lil Bit wrinkled her nose an argued, "Nu-uh, Jezze Momma. Poppa Daryl says he's gonna get us a nice big deer."

"Poppa Daryl going to teach you English as well?" She looked up at me an raised that lil brown eyebrow.

"First he has to teach Eric Dad how to play the clap game. He doesn't play it right."

"Ain't gonna be teachin' him to play no clap game, Lil Bit," I growled.

Jesse laughed an looked up at me. She asked, "When are you planning on going hunting?"

"Coupla days. Gonna take Johnny with me. He's gonna needa disappear fer a few days. Figure I'll give him time to get settled, then I'll take him out with me."

"I take it that he and Beth are talking to Hershel tonight?"

"Yep."

"I'm going to go take a shower. Will you watch Arlene for a little bit?"

"I got watch in an hour so don' be in there too long."

She nodded an kissed Lil Bit on the cheek 'fore she put her down. Then she grinned real big up at me like she was thinkin' I was gonna be kissin' her. I jus put my forehead down on hers an told her, "Hurry up in there an don' make me have to come get ya. An keep the damn door locked an my jacket on when ya get out."

"Mouth, Daryl," she warned.

"Show ya _mouth_, woman. Go get yer shower. Ain't got all day."

She laughed an put a real quick kiss on the corner of my mouth 'fore she ducked away an walked inside. Couldn' help but stare at that ass swayin' side to side underneath those damn angel wings. Noticed Tyreese starin' too an I whistled low at him. When he looked up at me, I sneered an shook my head at him. That one was my woman an I weren' lookin' to share her with no one.


	8. Chapter 8

"Lil Bit, ya best get yer lil butt way from that fence an ya know it!"

I looked up from where I was crouched by Grace and Lucas to see Daryl hollering at Arlene. She wasn't close enough to the fence for me to worry, but it was apparently close enough to give him a mild panic attack. She looked up at him and started back towards him with the other little girl that was close to her age. Elizabeth was six and she and Arlene were fast friends. The smaller children were Elizabeth, Grace, Lucas, and Heather. The other young children were Byron and William and the teenagers were Kennedy and Phil. Lil Bit reached Daryl and he bent down to talk to her quietly. Then he patted her on the head and hoisted her up on his hip. Elizabeth stared at him and he sighed before he bent down to pick her up too. I tried to stifle a giggle and the man lumbered over to me with his crossbow spread across his back and him clasping the two little girls to him tight.

"Don' be laughin' at me, woman," he growled as he put the two down and dropped heavy on the ground beside me. "Kids round here thinkin' I'm some kinda daddy is drivin' me insane."

"Well stop acting like some kind of daddy and you wouldn't have kids thinking you're one," I teased.

He rolled his eyes and looked at little Lucas standing in front of me with his eyes on the ground. He asked quietly, "How's he doin'?"

"About as well as can be expected. Sasha told me that he's been having nightmares. Wakes up screaming and won't go to sleep until somebody holds him. She asked me to start putting him to bed because I'm strong enough to walk with a child in my arms for hours."

"Don' be stayin' out too late. Hard to sleep when yer not in the bed." My head snapped up to look at him and he looked away quickly, embarrassed about his show of feelings.

I grabbed his hand and admitted, "It's hard to sleep when you're not there too. The next few days are going to be rough."

"Ya will be jus fine till I get back," he promised. "Me an Johnny be gone a few days, pick up some stuff fer the group, get us a deer so we stop eatin' all that canned meat. Be back 'fore ya miss me."

I laughed and he looped his arm around my shoulder and tilted his head back in the sunshine. The little boy in front of us stared at Daryl, studying him cautiously and I could tell that Daryl was peeking through his eyelashes, studying the little boy right back. Finally, he sat up and asked the little boy, "Ya know how to catch frogs?"

Lucas shook his head and turned those bright green eyes on me. I nodded towards Daryl. Daryl continued, "Well, ya wanna learn how to catch frogs? Ya ain't gotta stick by the girls. Let 'em play their girly games an we'll go do man stuff."

Lucas looked at me again and I nodded encouragingly. I said, "Go ahead, Lucas. Daryl won't hurt you."

Lucas nodded and turned to Daryl. Daryl let go of my hand, stood up, and took Lucas's in his before moving off towards an area where the children hadn't played yet. I looked over at Arlene and found her staring at Daryl and Lucas. I asked, "Baby girl, are you alright?"

"Jesse Momma, no matter what, Poppa Daryl still loves us, right? He's not going to leave because I have another mommy and daddy?"

I reached out and grasped the back of her sundress, pulling her between my legs and into my arms. I pressed a hard kiss to the top of her head and promised, "Poppa Daryl will always love you, baby girl. I promise. He's not leaving us. Lucas just needs a friend right now and Poppa Daryl's helping him out."

"Oh," she said slowly. "Is Lucas going to come live with us?"

"I don't know, baby girl. Would you want him to come live with us?"

"I don't know, Jesse Momma. Can I think about it?"

I laughed and held her closer. I agreed, "Yeah. You can think about it. Now go play tea party with Heather and Elizabeth."

I pushed her up on her feet and towards the other girls. My eyes settled on them for a second before making my way over to where Daryl was crouched in the dirt with Lucas, talking really slowly and motioning towards the grass. I laughed and laid back to enjoy the sun. For the first time since everything started, I wasn't waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wasn't worried about the dumbfucks, as Daryl called Kyra and Eric, I wasn't worried about my little girl, my man was safe, and I was going to be an aunt. Hershel almost shit himself when Johnny and Beth told him that she was pregnant and he'd ordered Johnny to marry her before she had the baby. The wedding was planned for when everything got settled, which meant that Maggie and Glenn were pushing their wedding up because Maggie refused to let her little sister get married before her.

I grinned and relaxed in the sun until I felt a shadow fall over me. Carol sat down next to me in the grass and I tilted my head to look at her. She nodded towards Daryl and said quietly, "He's a great dad. He'd have made an amazing one before all of this."

"He's an amazing one now. Don't tell him that though."

She laughed and promised, "I won't. Trust me, I know enough about Daryl Dixon to know what battles to pick and when to leave that man alone."

I sighed and bent my head back again. I asked, "Carol, how did you get to know Daryl better? Like how did you learn things about him?"

She shrugged and answered, "I watched him and his brother. I watched his actions. I saw what he did for the group, for me and my little girl, for Judith. You have to be patient with him."

"I don't have a lot of patience."

"Sure you do. I've seen you with Arlene. Treat Daryl like you do Arlene."

"I'm not sure he'd appreciate that," I laughed. "Plus I never feel like smacking Arlene upside her head. With Daryl, I feel like that at least once a day. Whether it's for glaring at me when I'm talking, or glaring at somebody else when I'm talking, or full out being an idiot."

"I'm sure he feels like smacking you too a lot of the time," she retorted. I looked over at her and laughed again.

I teased, "You hide that smart mouth well, Carol. You should lay down the law more often. Take over leadership of this place. It worked with Daryl."

"I think it only works with Daryl," she admitted. "Nobody else around here listens to me."

"Well, Johnny and I would be glad to listen to you. You can boss that dumbass around anytime. Getting him to listen might be as big of a miracle as making Daryl listen."

From over by Daryl, Lucas let out a high pitched shriek of victory and Daryl shushed him quickly by tapping him on the head. The little boy stumbled forwards a few inches and I raised up to yell at him. But then Lucas swatted at his hand and scowled at him and went back to looking at the ground. I rested back on my elbows and Carol grinned at the sight before us. She patted me on the knee before laying back beside me. She sighed and said, "Peace is fleeting, but at least it's here for now."


	9. Chapter 9

Johnny was pretty damn good on that gimp leg of his. He was real quiet an he caught onto shit quick. Didn' pick on me like Merle did neither. Jus followed me real quiet an had my back. We went to a town on his map where he knew where stuff was. Said that him an Jesse always hid stuff jus in case they had to double back an hide out fer a while. Said they always let Lil Bit pick out the house.

We got to a big white house with a big front porch an I let Johnny lead the way up the porch. He checked the door fer a second an nodded at me 'fore he went to the side of the porch an started climbin' like a damn monkey. Those damn green eyes weren' the only thing the brother an sister had in common. He climbed up the damn house an I heard him goin' in through a window. Then, few minutes later, he opened the door an nodded at me without sayin' anythin'. Took me inside an I looked round at the nice lil furniture an the nice carpet that had footprints all cross it. Johnny said, "If ya go upstairs, ya see where Arlene drew all over the wall with markers 'cause Jesse couldn' find her a colorin' book."

I followed him up to the second floor an I saw all the drawin' on the walls. Johnny pointed at some green circles an said, "That one's a dog. Arlene's always wanted a dog."

"We're gonna get her some colorin' books then. An some crayons an markers an paint an stuff. Let her draw all over the walls a the new room in the office. Ain't got no wallpaper or nothin' she can fuck up. Be all good."

Johnny grinned at me but knew better than to say nothin'. Stead he pointed up at a panel in the ceilin' an said, "That's the attic."

"Know what a fuckin' attic is, dumbshit."

He rolled his eyes an snapped back, "Well, wasn't too sure ya have those in trailers."

"Shut the fuck up."

I reached up an pulled open the panel. Set a stairs come down an Johnny climbed up to start tossin' stuff down to me. Had all kinds a canned food an clothes. Johnny explained, "We used to gather whatever kinda winter clothes we could find 'cause Jesse knows how to sew real well an if it didn' fit us, it'd be a good blanket."

Shit in there that'd fit all a us. An what couldn' be fixed could be turned into blankets, jus like Jesse an Johnny planned. He tossed it down to me an I put it up in the truck. Then, I went through the house to check it all. Found some colorin' shit in one a the kid's rooms an grabbed it to take with us. There was a lil toddler bed an I asked Johnny, "Ya think Jesse'd mind a whole bunch if I took the lil bed in the kid's room apart fer Lil Bit or ya think we oughta get her a whole new one?"

"Ya wanna get Lil Bit a new bed, in the middle of the end of the world?"

"Yeah. Ain't like I can' afford it now."

He looked over at me an then he started laughin'. I glared at him an kicked at him but he jus jumped outta the way an finally said, "Daryl Dixon, I think ya may have just found the only good thing 'bout the fuckin' apocalypse. Let's go fuckin' get Arlene a bed an get Judith some baby shit. Think there's a fuckin' baby store round here somewhere. Jus fuckin' make sure ya don' get fuckin' bit. Want ya to be the one to tell Jesse 'bout the only good thing bout the apocalypse. She'll think it's fuckin' hilarious."

I rolled my eyes at him an said, "Weapons place first. Saw one down the street."

"Most of the ammo'll be gone."

"But ain't lookin' fer guns. Lookin' fer some new bolts an a compound bow fer Jesse. Needs a compound stead a that damn regular bow she's got. Maybe get a starter bow fer Lil Bit so I kin get her started."

He chuckled gain an said, "You, Daryl fuckin' Dixon, are wrapped round those two's damn lil fingers."

"I ain't."

"Whatever, man. Let's go get ya those damn bows. Wanna drive or leave the truck here an walk?"

"Jus fuckin' walk, ya damn crip."

He rolled his eyes at me an followed me to the store. I was right an the bows weren' cleared out an there was a whole stock a arrows an bolts in the back room. We got us some an then went cross town to where Johnny said the fuckin' baby store was an there was bout fifteen walkers jus wonderin' round.

"What the fuck are they doin' in front of a kid's store?" Johnny growled. "Ain't like there are no babies in there."

"Maybe shit ton a people tryin' to get to baby stuff."

"How many babies kin there be out there?"

"I don' know. Ya managed to knock up Beth, Lori had a baby, Jesse's got Lil Bit, an there's a whole buncha babies in the prison now. We can' be the only group that's got babies. Woodbury had a safe place. Can' be the only place all set up real nice. People got things all figured out."

"Well let's go get these damn things all outta the way so we kin get baby gear. Beth'll be needin' some stuff too. Some mommy clothes."

"Well let's fuckin' go."

We both went at it. I shot bout five of 'em an then Johnny an I moved in an took 'em out. I got my bolts back an then we went on in so we could look 'round but when we got in, we were both jus fuckin' lost. Didn' neither of us know nothin' bout findin' baby shit. I asked, "Do ya know what we're supposed to be doin'?"

"Jus fuckin' grab anythin' that looks like it'd go on a baby," I ordered. "An check fer fuckin' walkers. I ain't wantin' to be cuttin' off yer damn arm or leg while we're out here an explainin' it to Jesse when we get back."

"We oughta get a cart."

"Fuckin' shoppin' like old women."

"Shut the fuck up, Dixon. Get yer fuckin' cart an let's go."

I grabbed a cart an started pushin' it round, grabbin' whatever I could see. Diapers, formula, shit like that. Stuff fer real lil babies an then stuff fer the bigger babies like Lil Bit an the lil boy Jesse'd taken a likin' to. He'd need boy stuff. He was fuckin' lil. Two, three maybe? Weren' sure. Reminded myself to ask Jesse while I looked fer shit in the store. Finally, I got the fuckin' cart filled up an met Johnny by the entrance. His pants were stained with blood on one side an he explained real quick, "Walker grabbed me. Took it down."

"Didn' getcha?"

"Woulda told ya if it did. Ain't takin' nothin' back that could hurt my sister, my niece, my girlfri…fiancé, or my baby."

"Fiance," I repeated. "Ain't it weird? Ya ain't known her no longer than I known yer sister an yer already gettin' hitched."

He shrugged an answered, "I love her though."

"How ya know? Ya only known her coupla months now."

"I've been with a lot of girls, Dixon. Sometimes I don' even remember all their names, but it didn' matter none when I was round Beth. Didn' feel like shovin' her into a closet an fuckin' her like crazy. Didn' wanna jus grab on her. Wanted to get to know her. Didn' want her leavin' me an when we had sex…"

"Don' be tellin' me bout sex with Beth an I won't tell ya bout sex with yer sister."

"I knew she wore her 'got laid' face a couple of times!"

"Ya know yer damn sister's fuckin' face?"

"Shut up, Dixon. Like ya couldn' tell when Merle got laid. When yer round somebody yer whole life, ya just know 'em. Bout fuckin' time too. She ain't gotten laid in forever."

"Fuckin' apocalypse, dumbass. Hope yer sister weren' out there, runnin' round, fuckin' whoever she came cross." Didn' wanna say that I didn' like the thought of it. Made my head hurt an my breath stop fer a second. Didn' wanna think a her fuckin' nobody. Didn' even wanna think a her an me as fuckin'. Didn' even know what I wanted to think bout it, except I wanted it to happen again.

He shrugged an answered, "Jesse ain't like that no more."

"No more?"

"Well, when she was a teenager an she first found out she couldn' have kids, she took it a bit rough. Had a bit of a wild spell."

"How wild?" Didn' like the way my stomach was clenchin' an my hands were turnin' into fists.

"She went on a bender when she was seventeen. Different boyfriend every month or so. Didn' sleep with all of 'em, but she slept with enough that she had our daddy worried 'bout her."

"How many is 'nuff?"

"I don' know, Dixon. Why don' ya ask her?"

"Ain't gonna ask her bout that shit. None a my damn business anyhow."

Johnny rolled his eyes but ordered, "Come on, dumbfuck. We better find a place to sleep fer the night so we can hunt in the mornin' an get our asses back. Jesse has to come lookin' fer us an we'll wish we was walkers."

We went to a hotel an cleared it out an I membered Jesse sayin' we needed to get us some blankets an stuff fer the winter. I cleaned out the other rooms an stuffed 'em into the backseat a the truck 'fore me an Johnny hunkered down fer the night. We pushed the dresser up gainst the door and slept in a room with twin beds. Right 'fore I fell asleep, Johnny said real quiet, "Reason it ain't real weird to feel the way I feel 'bout Beth is 'cause I ask her things an she asks me things. We talk. I know shit bout her. Bet ya wouldn' feel half as weird as ya do if ya an my sister would talk to each other."

"Ain't never talked to no woman 'fore."

"Well ya better fuckin' learn, Dixon. My sister likes ya somethin' awful but how long ya expect her to just sit round, not really knowin' ya? She ain't wantin' to leave ya but if ya don' let her know who ya are, she ain't gonna stay."


	10. Chapter 10

"Jesse." I reached behind me to swat at the pressure at my back. "Jesse, get yer ass up, woman."

"Go away," I groaned. I rolled over onto my stomach and buried my face in Daryl's pillow. Daryl, whose chest was pressed hard against my side and whose arm was wrapped tight around my waist. Daryl, who was supposed to be hunting with my brother. I rolled quickly, noticing that Arlene wasn't in the bed and rose to my knees, frantically searching the room for her. Daryl noticed what I was doing and grabbed my hand, yanking me back to the mattress quickly.

"Woman, calm down. Lil Bit's with some a the other kids, out in the lil yard. Yer brother's helpin' unload the truck. Rick told me about yer screamin' match with the bitch so I told 'em to let ya sleep in a lil. What was ya hollerin' at her over this time?"

"Bitch tried to tell me I wasn't braiding Arlene's hair right."

"Ya got in a fight cause a hair?" He sounded so confused that I giggled and he glared down at me hard. I shut my mouth quickly and smiled at him. "End a the fuckin' world an yer out in the yard fightin' bout hair."

"Shut up, Dixon. I thought you said you were going to let me sleep in."

"Uh uh. Wanna talk to ya."

I stared at him, my mind simply wasn't processing what he was telling me. Daryl wanted to talk. Daryl Dixon wanted to talk. Mr.-Emotionally-Stunted-Don't-Look-At-My-Chest-Can 't-Say-I-Care-About-You wanted to talk. My heart started racing and my mouth went dry. When an emotionally stunted man wanted to talk, it usually had something to do with, "Ain't gonna work out no more." He noticed and Daryl said quickly, "Ain't leavin' ya, Jesse. Jus…..jus wanna…talk. I jus wanna talk to ya."

"Oh. About what? What's going on?"

"Nothin'. Nothins goin' on. I jus wanted to talk to ya. Learn some stuff bout ya or whatever. I don' know nothin' bout ya. Jus wanted to know somethin'."

"Like what?"

"I don' know. Jus stuff."

It was more awkward than the first time I had sex. But I knew it took a lot for Daryl to even try asking for information so I took a deep breath and questioned, "Like when I was in college or when I was in high school?"

"When ya were in college, ya had Lil Bit. Tell me bout high school." His bright blue eyes shifted to the side and I quirked my eyebrow up.

"Is there any reason you want to know about high school?"

"Cause I already know bout college."

"You sure it's not because Johnny let some things slip while you were out there?"

"Didn' tell me nothin' portant. Jus curious is all."

"You want to know how many guys I've slept with." It wasn't a question.

"I…ya don'….no…"

I frowned and looked away from him, at the back wall. He reached over and grasped my chin in his hands and yanked my face back to his to stare at him. He promised, "Ain't gonna change nothin'. Don' matter how many guys ya fucked, long as ya ain't fuckin' no one else now."

"So we're exclusive?"

"Damn straight."

I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. He said, "But ya know, ya kin tell me shit, right? Like not jus stuff bout Lil Bit, but stuff from whenever."

He wouldn't meet my eyes while he talked and I knew it was hard for him. I asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Ain't sayin' I **want** to know anythin'. Just sayin' if ya wanna talk bout it, I'll listen to ya."

"Eight, Daryl. Eight guys. I've had sex with eight guys," I sighed, tired of him beating around the bush.

"That all?" he asked with a laugh. "God damn, woman, ya an yer brother had me fuckin' scared ya'd done fucked half the god damn state a Georgia! Eight ain't nothin'! Half the girls in the fuckin' trailer park I lived in done fucked eight guys by the time they were sixteen. God damn, woman. Ya ain't got nothin' to be ashamed of."

I just stared at him while he grinned down at me. A full blown, Daryl Dixon, lopsided, scruffy grin. One so rare that I'd only seen it a few times when he was grinning at Arlene for doing something so heart wrenchingly adorable that neither of us could stand it. But right then, he looked down right excited that I wasn't sleeping around. I laughed and said, "Daryl, this is just one of those things I love about you."

I laughed again but he froze, his body tight against mine as he stared down at me, the smile fading fast off his face. I realized why he was freaking out and I said quickly, "Daryl, I didn't say that I love you. I said there are things that I love about you."

"Course," he said gruffly. "Course ya did. Course ya did cause not like we known each other that long or nothin'. Can' be sayin' love ya an stuff. Ya know."

"Daryl, calm down. I know that…."

"I'ma jus go help Johnny. But ya oughta relax. Get some rest an stuff. I'ma jus go get Lil Bit's bed an stuff."

"Daryl, will you…"

He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. He was up off the bed and out the door in seconds. I rolled my eyes and sighed before climbing out of bed and beginning to dress. Even with Daryl's order to stay in bed, I had things to do. I had to make my way down to the power room and see if there was any way to get the generators up and running full time without using mass amounts of energy. The solar panels were great on the roof but they wouldn't work for mass amounts. The technology hadn't existed when the world went to shit. To run more rooms of the prison, I'd need more solar panels, which were easy to get ahold of thankfully. Walkers had no need for solar energy. I could also construct a wind turbine, if Rick would let me take Daryl and Johnny to gather the supplies.

I made my way into the main area and wondered in amazement at all the things that were brought in. Daryl and Johnny had done well. Arlene was with Carol, exclaiming in amazement over the new coloring books Daryl had brought in and Carol was informing her that she would have to share with the other kids. I greeted everybody and kissed Arlene on top of the head. I made my way over to Rick, who was overseeing the separation of supplies with Tyreese.

"Good morning, Jesse. Daryl said you'd be spending a few hours in bed. We didn't expect you up."

"Well, I still have to make my way down to the generator room today. I want to see what materials we would need to get everything set up. I think it would take me a few months to get everything set up but it just depends on how soon I can get hold of everything and what the set up looks like downstairs."

"Good. Take somebody with you. We need Johnny and Daryl. Carl, Maggie, and Glenn are on duty. Hershel won't make it down in the tombs and Beth and Carol are busy. Michonne is scouting today. Looking for signs of movement outside the walls. I think Tyreese probably has somebody available. Karen, Sasha, Kyra, or Eric."

"I'd be better off with a walker at my back than with Kyra down there."

"Sasha and Karen are with the kids. The only person I have free is Eric," Tyreese said with a shrug.

"No."

"Jesse, be reasonable," Rick plead. "I know you'd rather have Daryl or Johnny at your back but Eric isn't going to do anything that will endanger you."

"You don't know that."

"If you don't come back, he knows Daryl will kill him."

"Fine. Go get him. I'm going to go talk to Johnny and Daryl."

Tyreese nodded and I made my way outside and over to Johnny and Daryl, who were unloading things from the back of the truck. Johnny was limping slightly, keeping the majority of the weight off his leg but it was healed enough for him to move around on it, a fact that made me happy. Johnny stopped to hug me and Daryl kept his eyes from meeting mine.

"Thought ya were gonna be in bed fer a while," Johnny said happily. "Ya need yer rest an there ain't nothin' fer ya to be doin' out here anyway. Go on back to the room."

"I can't. I'm working in the generator room today. I have to go down and see if I could use renewable energy to rewire the prison."

"Ya oughta take someone wit ya," Daryl spoke for the first time.

"Apparently, I am," I replied.

"Ain't takin' that truck bitch are ya? Seems useless," he growled.

"No. Not Karen."

"Tyreese's sister, then? Got a bad fuckin' attitude on her. Ain't gonna be much use if ya gotta give her orders."

"Not Sasha either."

"I know ya ain't takin' the bitch."

"No. I'm not taking Kyra."

Daryl glared at me for a second as he realized what I was saying. He snapped, "Ya ain't takin' that stupid fucker down there with ya. Ya can't trust him an I don't want ya goin' fuckin' no where with him."

"I have to go down there, Daryl. I have to take somebody with me and you and Johnny are busy. Eric won't have a gun on him. You know the only ones in the Woodbury group who are allowed to carry guns are Tyreese and Sasha. He'll have a bat or something and I'll have my machete, my knives, and my Beretta. He won't have a chance if he tried anything on me."

"Jesse, ain't gonna happen."

"Daryl, it's fine. I will be safe down there."

"I'm gonna go with ya."

"You're needed here and we both know it. I just wanted to tell you."

A snarl ripped from his throat and he stalked over to me. His body towered over mine and Johnny took a step forward to push Daryl back. Daryl raised his hand and pointed a finger warningly in Johnny's direction without taking his eyes off of me. He growled, "Ya fuckin' stay over there, Johnny. Me an yer sister ain't done talkin' 'bout this."

"Dixon, don't ya fuckin' touch her."

"Ain't gonna hurt yer sister," he snapped. "Gonna take her back to the room an tie her to the bed an not let her leave."

"What ya do in yer spare time is yer own damn business," Johnny laughed. "I'm just makin' sure ya keep yer hands where they're respectable."

"Fuck off."

"Johnny, Daryl's not going to hurt me."

"Damn straight."

"Fuck off, Johnny. Talkin' to yer sister."

"Jesse, holler if ya need me." I looked over at my brother and nodded. The crease between his eyebrows faded a little and he grabbed a tote out of the truck and hobbled off.

"Ya ain't goin' down there with him." Daryl's voice was low and threatening.

"I have to go down there, Daryl. I don't have a choice. With the added people and the added kids, we need electricity. We need to be able to see at night without the damn torches or the flashlights. Sure there are plenty of batteries now, but what about later? And with the Governor still out there and the back wall not fixed yet, we need to be able to see. We need to be prepared in case of an attack. For all we know he could be out there now, preparing an army."

"That means ya gotta go down in the fuckin' tombs wit yer dumbass ex fiancé? That fucker couldn' protect his own ass, he ain't gonna have yers an I ain't gonna have ya gettin' killed or hurt."

That softened me up a little. He so rarely expressed concern and it was in his eyes that he was worried about me. So, instead, I promised, "Rick said that if he comes back without me, you're allowed to shoot him."

"Rather have ya back than be allowed to shoot him."

I grinned up at him and stepped a little closer. I tilted my head back and he glared down at me. He murmured, "Ain't gonna be kissin' on ya, woman. All kinds of fuckin' people an shit around an ain't decent."

I rolled my eyes and informed him stubbornly, "I'm going down to the tombs, Daryl, so you might as well kiss me now."

He glared again and grabbed my arm. He ordered, "'mon. Gotta talk to someone 'fore ya go."

He dragged me over to where Eric was standing with Kyra and snapped his fingers irritably to get their attention. Kyra asked, "What do _you_ want?"

"Ain't wantin' to talk to ya, bitch. Needa talk to yer dumb fucker here."

"Listen, Daryl, I understand your irritation towards Kyra and I, but you really should learn my…"

"Shut up," Daryl interrupted Eric's rant and earned a glare from both of them. "Ain't 'bout Lil Bit. Ya followin' Jesse down in the tombs today?"

"Yeah."

"Ya gonna take care a her jus fine."

"Of course," Eric assured him. "I'll be watching her back. Keeping the walkers away."

"Bout as fuckin' useful as a trapdoor on a canoe."

"Look, I can take care of Jesse down there."

"Ya fuckin' better. Cause if ya come back, but she don', I'll fuckin' shoot ya. Ya come back, an she's hurt, I'll fuckin' shoot ya. Ya come back, an she's upset, I"ll fuckin' shoot ya. Got it?"

"Basically, Jesse comes back fine or I get shot. I can respect that."

"Ain't about respectin' it, fucker. Know it. She don' come back, ya fuckin' die."


	11. Chapter 11

With that, he grabbed my arm again and yanked me with him into the cell block. He didn't slow his stride until he reached our room and pushed me inside. I leaned against the desk that served as our dresser and watched him move around the room frantically, moving things around and searching. Finally, I asked, "Daryl, what are you looking for?"

"Yer knives an shit. Gonna help ya get 'em strapped on."

"I can do that myself."

"Don' care."

He continued his searching and I rolled my eyes. I opened the drawer of the dresser and began to extract my weapons. Daryl grunted, "Oh" and made his way over to me. He turned my back to him so that my hips were pressed against the dresser and murmured, "Want ya to take my knife too. Bigger than yers."

"Daryl, you're being silly."

"Don' care what ya say, woman. Yer comin' back here to me an Lil Bit no matter what. Ya got it?"

"I can put my own weapons on. I've been doing it since the start of the apocalypse."

"Wanna make sure they're on nice an tight."

His hands traced over my sides, down to my hips, and then on to my thighs. He was fast but he seemed to touch every part of me. He informed me, "Makin' sure yer clothes are all smoothed down an stuff so I kin get the shit on without it fallin' off."

"That all you going to do while you're back there?" I teased.

"Hush up, woman. Ain't the time to be thinkin' like that."

"Why not, Daryl? The way you're talking, I might not come back. Shouldn't we get a little time in?"

He grunted and I laughed. He ordered, "Shut up, Jesse."

His hands graced my thighs while he strapped on my machete and his hunting knife. I rolled my eyes when he growled, "We needa getta holster fer yer gun. Can' be carryin' it tucked up yer ass all the time."

"It's not 'tucked up my ass' and why do I need a holster? You carry your crossbow strapped to your back all the time, not to mention everything you keep in your pockets and tucked into your waist band."

"Crossbow's meant to be on my back an 'm not ya so shut the hell up."

He continued down my legs until he was kneeling behind me on the floor, tucking things into my boots. I teased, "You know, instead of bitching at me about going into the tombs or running off when I use the 'L' word, we could be doing some fun stuff in the last ten minutes before we won't see each other all day."

"Ain't ya got nothin' else on yer mind, woman?"

"Nope."

"Come back here alive an I'll make sure ya get taken care a tonight," he promised.

"What about Arlene?"

"We'll let Johnny take Lil Bit to have dinner wit the dumb fucks an me an ya will take a shower. Yer gonna need one after yer down in the tombs all day."

"How romantic, Dixon. Telling me I stink."

"Shut up, ya lil fuckin' psycho."

I smiled and he patted my ankle, letting me know that I could turn around. As I turned, he rose up from his crouching position and I found him pressed tight against me with my ass against the desk behind me. He stared for a long second before he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against mine. His hand came up to cup the back of my head and he stared into my eyes. He ordered, "Get yer ass back here quick as ya can. Don' be fuckin' off down there, got it?"

"Yeah, Daryl, because my idea of a great day is fucking around in the tombs with my ex while my boyfriend waits upstairs ready to kill him," I snapped sarcastically.

He stared down at me for a long moment before he muttered, "Jus sayin'. Don' be fuckin' off. Get down there, do whatcha gotta do, an get back."

He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to my lips before he stepped away from me, breaking all contact. He ordered, "Go get shit done. I got shit to do today."

I rolled my eyes but followed him out of the room.

I was elbows deep in a bundle of wiring when Eric spoke for the first time since we made our way to the generator room with him walking in front of me and me walking backwards to make sure there wasn't anything moving from around the corners we passed. It was quiet, which wasn't necessarily good. It meant that walkers weren't in that particular area at that time.

"You know, Kyra and I don't mean any harm to you or Daryl. We just want to be parents to Arlene too."

"You haven't earned the right to be parents," I answered without looking away from the wiring.

"But Daryl did? How did he earn that right? How did he do it when you've only known him a few short months."

"It doesn't matter what he did or didn't do. It only matters that you and Kyra aren't fit even to be around Arlene. You weren't fit before the world ended and you sure as fuck aren't fit now."

"I was never bad to Arlene, Jesse. You saw how I was with her. I was always a good dad."

I nodded in agreement but didn't say anything else.

"We saw the bed today," Eric continued. "Kyra and I saw Daryl bring it in for her. It's a princess bed. Did you tell him to get that for her?"

"Nope."

"So you're telling me that that redneck went out and thought to himself, 'I should get a kid that isn't mine a princess bed'?"

"Yep." I pulled a marker out of my pants pocket and scribbled the name of a fuse on my arm. Next to it, I wrote how many I'd need of it.

"Bullshit. I know you have to be telling him what to do. Guiding him. He just wants in your pants, Jesse. Jesus. Does he even know how many guys you fucked before me?"

"Yep." I steadfastly ignored him. I wasn't going to let the dumbass rile me up.

"And you're not suspicious about why he wants to be with **you**? Think about it, Jesse. You're pretty but you're not **that** pretty. Even that older woman, Carol, has more grace than you. And there's the young girl. What's her name? The blonde one? Beth, right? But she's with your brother, isn't she? She's pregnant, right? There's also Sasha and Karen though. I mean, your man is a racist but he'd probably still tap Sasha. Hell, I know I would and…"

"Shut up, or I will put a bullet through your head," I warned through gritted teeth. "Mine and Daryl's relationship is none of your business."

"Relationship?" Eric snorted. He always had a way of getting under people's skin. It was easy to pretend that Eric was a humble, slightly dim witted mechanic with a weak spot for his ex-wife and a willingness to let me do whatever I wanted as long as I took care of Arlene. That was what people saw. But it wasn't all of the truth. Eric could be well spoken and he was manipulative. That's how I ended up staying with him when he cheated on me time and time again.

"Yes, relationship. Don't make me repeat myself again." I made sure not to look at Eric. Instead, I continued to stare at the tangle of wires.

"Well…"

I pulled the Beretta out of the back of my pants and pointed it at him without looking away from counting the wires.

"It's not even…"

I cocked it while keeping my eyes on the wires and he fell silent once again. When I was done, I raised my eyes back to him and warned, "I'm done talking, Eric. You and Kyra have your time with Arlene. Daryl and I have been nice enough to allow that. But I won't put up with you talking shit about him or me. You need to understand this now. I didn't stay with you because I thought you were too incredible to ever possibly leave. I didn't stay with you because you bullied me into it. And I sure as fuck didn't stay with you because I thought you were faithful to me. I stayed with you because you had what I wanted. A daughter. I couldn't have one; you had one you didn't want to take care of. You were useful. Now you're not. So leave me the fuck alone."

With that, I tucked my gun back into my pants and growled, "I got what I need. Come on. I still have shit to do upstairs today."

"Like what?"

"Planning to supply the entire prison with electricity so you and Kyra can live comfortably."


	12. Chapter 12

She wasn' limpin' or hurt but she was still pissed off an I didn' see that fucker nowhere near her. I was in the room, puttin' together Lil Bit's bed when she walked in. Pretty fuckin' nicely put together. I fuckin' worked my ass off gettin' it out a that stupid fuckin' pink box an gettin' all the fuckin' stupid ass screws in place. I never put a kid's bed together in my whole life an I didn' never think I was gonna have to. But there I was in a fuckin' prison office, puttin' together a damn bed fer a baby that weren' mine so me an my woman could have our own bed if she ever decided to sleep in the one I got fer her.

"Do you think she'll actually use it?" she asked from the door.

"Fuckin' hope so. Don' mind sharin' the damn bed wit her but I got a bruise on my ribs from her kickin' the shit outta me. She sleeps between us, that damn tiny heel a hers ends up tween my ribs. She sleeps over by ya, she always accidentally scratches my face when she reaches round ya. She's gonna get my eyes one a these nights."

She smiled at me an came over to sit on the bed an watch me. She pointed out, "It would be easier if you read the directions."

"Shuddup, woman. Ain't ya got somethin' better to be doin' than watchin' me workin'?"

"Yeah. I need to work on plans for the new solar panels and plans to build a wind turbine."

"Ya ain't goin' out there alone to get supplies, know that don'tcha?"

"Yep. You and I will go when I finish my checklists and my plans for the wind turbine. It might take about a week to get everything drawn up. Maybe two."

"Good. How was dealin' wit the fucker?"

She grunted an I looked up at her. There was a scowl on her face. I asked, "What the fuck did he do?"

"He didn't really do anything. Being around him just pisses me off."

I rolled my eyes an ordered, "Go get yer shit done. Where will ya be? I'll come get ya in a bit. Have dinner an then get ya shower since ya fuckin' wouldn't leave me alone 'bout it earlier."

She rolled her eyes at me an said, "You know, one of the things that pissed me off the worse today was Eric insinuating that you only wanted sex from me. But it's not you bugging me for sex. It's always me bugging you."

I glared at her fer a long second an said, "He fuckin' said what?"

"Forget about it, Daryl. He was being stupid, he pissed me off, and now I feel better because of you."

That kinda made me not wanna kick the fucker's ass as bad but I still needed to. I weren' gonna let nobody talk to my woman bout our relationship but me. I stood up an started towards the door but Jesse jumped up an grabbed onto me real quick. She pulled on my hand an commanded, "You have to fix Arlene's bed. I took care of it already. Held a gun to his head and told him to keep his mouth off of us."

"Still oughta go out there an tell him myself. He can' be sayin' shit like that to ya, Jesse. He can' be sayin' shit like that 'bout ya neither. Need to fuckin' teach him a damn lesson."

She yanked on my hand an stood up on her tiptoes to kiss me real quick an soft 'fore she yanked back an warned, "You will not be kicking anyone's ass. You will not be teaching anyone a lesson. You are going to stay here and put together our daughter's bed together and move her stuff into the room and I am going to take Lucas and Arlene up on the roof and work with them on counting and math while I make some blueprints for a wind turbine. And then, at dinner time, we are going to feed our daughter and then we are going to let my brother insult Kyra and Eric while they play with Arlene and while we take a nice, hot shower."

"Got yer whole fuckin' day planned out, dontcha?"

"And your day planned as well," she answered. "So get to work on what you have to do and I will do what I need to do."

"Still gonna end up kickin' his ass," I promised her.

"But not today."

She kissed me real quick again an I grabbed at her but she slipped through my fingers an out the door. Hated that she was so fuckin' fast half the time but also liked it. Meant she was quick on her feet. Wouldn' get bit by fuckin' walkers. Wouldn' be losin' my woman. I didn' see her again til I went up on the roof at dinner to grab her up. She was sittin' with Lucas on her one leg an Lil Bit on her other, all crossed up like she sat all the time. Like the Injuns in story books. Real neat an tidy. She was readin' to 'em outta a book. Somethin' like 'Evens Steven an Odd Todd' or somethin' like it. Book 'bout math that Johnny grabbed up. It rhymed an she was readin' it out loud. The other lil girls were sittin' real close to her but they weren' payin' attention. They were colorin'.

"Jesse, Lil Bit, Boy, 'mon," I hollered at 'em. "Dinner's done. Carol made some stew outta the deer we brought back. Me an Johnny dressed the rest a it. Ain't gonna last too long. Ya get the 'lectric up an runnin' an we kin try to store some a it. Stead a our meat goin' bad after couple days."

Jesse nodded at me an lifted Lucas an Lil Bit off a her legs. She pushed them towards me an Lil Bit ran over an latched onto my leg. I picked her up an the boy stared at me like he 'spected me to lift him up to. I asked, "Whatcha need, Boy?"

"He wants to come with us, Poppa Daryl," Lil Bit said right in my ear. "He's been with Jesse Momma and me and I told him that if he wanted to come eat with us, he could so he's going to come to dinner with us. So pick him up."

"Do I look like a pack mule, Lil Bit?"

"Of course not, Poppa Daryl. You look like my dad. But I told Lucas that you're real nice so you oughta pick him up too."

Course I did jus what Lil Bit said an I bent down an picked up Lucas an settled him on my other hip. Jesse looked over at us an laughed 'fore she took the hands of the other two lil girls. She was chattin' away, so I figured I could walk on ahead an I led her into the main area. Rick said that the Woodbury survivors had to start eatin' with us 'cause he didn' want us to be all separated an shit. I put Lucas an Lil Bit down an grabbed 'em a plate while Jesse helped the other kids. Johnny was over by Beth, pattin' her stomach an talkin' to Hershel. Hershel was talkin' 'bout weddin' plans in a couplea weeks fer Glenn an Maggie, who were sittin' with Michonne. Black girl looked pissed cause she was gonna have to take Maggie into town to get her some shit wit the weddin'.

Johnny looked over at me an grinned when he saw me holdin' those two babies an settin' 'em down to get 'em some food. I glared at him an he mouthed, "Poppa Daryl" like a lil fuckin' school girl teasin' another kid. Jesse walked in wit the two other lil girls an smacked Johnny in the back a the head fer teasin' me 'fore she got her own plate an sat down with me an Lucas an Lil Bit. Lucas scooted close to her an Lil Bit climbed up on my lap wit me.

"Ain't gonna be here long, Lil Bit. Me an yer momma gotta do some stuff so we're gonna eat real quick. Yer gonna eat wit yer Uncle Johnny an the…"

Jesse cleared her throat an gave me a real meaningful look. I said, "An yer other set a parents."

"Do I have to?" Lil Bit whined.

"Yeah, ya got to. We ain't gonna be gone too awful long."

Me an Jesse ate real fast an I scooted Lil Bit over to Johnny. Jesse kissed her an Lucas on the tops a their heads an sent Lucas off wit Karen an Tyreese's sister. I went ahead to the room to grab some clothes fer both of us an she an I went to the shower room.

"How was unpacking today?" she asked as soon as we got in the room.

"Got a lotta stuff."

"That's good." She walked across the room an turned the shower on.

"Ya jus wanna talk away?"

She rolled her eyes an took off her shirt an I stared. God damn my woman was fuckin' hot. Didn' know why the fuck she wanted a dumbass redneck like me but I was sure fuckin' glad she did. She pulled that shirt off an there was all that tanned, soft skin, all stretched out in front a me, taut an tight an sexy. Wit those two little dots a scars on her back, where the sticks pierced her skin when she was a lil girl. She peeked at me over her shoulder an took her bra off, let it slide off a her shoulders an hit the floor. I couldn' see her front but damn the back looked good. I walked over to her an grabbed her round her waist an pulled her up against me.

She laid her head back on my shoulder an peeked up at me through those real pretty eyelashes. She leaned up on her tiptoes an pressed her lips to the side a my neck. She whispered, "Are you going to keep your hands on my waist the whole time or are you going to actually touch me, Daryl?"

I moved my hands up an cupped her tit. God she had some great tits. Soft an jus enough to fit in my hand. Like it was made fer me to be holdin'. She moaned an wriggled closer to me. I played wit her. Rollin' her nipple between my fingers while I kissed on her neck. She made a lil moanin' sound in the back a her throat an choked out, "The water's going to get cold."

"So?"

"So we need to get in the shower." She turned to me an started unbuttonin' my shirt. I tried to stop her 'cause I hated her seein' all my scars an stuff but she never really cared bout 'em. She jus kissed past 'em. Damn it felt good fer her lips to be all over me. She started at my lips an kissed all over my neck an nibbled on my ears an kissed across my collar bone an all them scars. She didn' care none bout 'em.

Then her damn lil hands went down to my pants an she was fiddlin' with my belt an the buttons an zipper. 'fore I could stop her, her lil hands were down in my pants an boxers an she had her hand wrapped round me. God damn her lil hands felt good. They were soft an callused at the same time. Nobody got by without havin' calluses at the end of the world. Her lil hand could barely get all the way round me but she felt so damn good an tight an her mouth was on my neck while she was pumpin' her hand up an down.

"Jesse, ya gotta quit it," I ordered. "Won' be lastin' long if ya do that. Get on outta yer pants now."

She laughed an stepped away from me. Most people laughin' woulda pissed me off cause I'da thought they were laughin' at me. But I knew Jesse wasn' laughin' at me. She was jus teasin' like she always did. She stepped away from me an pulled off her boots while I took mine off. She wriggled outta her jeans an her panties an I was still tryin' to get mine off when she got under the water. Those lil water droplets made me want to run my tongue all over her body, jus catchin' 'em in my mouth an then she looked over her shoulder at me again wit all that hair fallin' down her back an said, "Hurry up, Dixon. The water's getting cold."

I ain't never got out a my pants so fast in my life. It was only seconds 'fore I was under the water with her with my mouth on her neck an her ass pressed up against my dick. Her arm came up an she grabbed the back a my head with her hand an jus held on to me as tight as she could, like she was gonna fall right over if I weren' holdin' her up. I slipped one hand down so I could play with her cunt an grabbed her tit with the other. She moaned. I didn' know nothin' bout fuckin' round down there with my fingers but I wanted to learn how to do that thing she did when we were fuckin' so she'd get off.

"Show me how ya fuck yerself with yer fingers," I whispered it against her neck an she let out a moan real quiet. I took her hand off a my neck an brought it down her body to between her thighs. "Touch yerself."

She did what I said an her lil fingers went to work an I moved mine outta the way an tilted my head over her shoulder so I could watch her. Her lil fingers worked to find that lil nub an she started rubbin' on it an moanin' a bit more. Then she grabbed my fingers, jus two of 'em an put 'em down where her fingers were an started movin' my fingers like she moved hers. After a coupla seconds, I swatted her fingers away an did it myself an she moaned my name real soft fer me. Then she begged fer more. Her voice real quiet, she whimpered, "Please, Daryl, more. Please."

She put her hands on the shower wall an peeked over her shoulder at me again. Her eyes were all hazy an she was chewin' on that lower lip all sexy an then she pushed her ass up gainst my dick. I didn' need to be asked twice. I moved my hand an grabbed my dick so I could put it in her. She was so fuckin' warm an tight an the kinda warm water round us was makin' it hard to stay in control. Then she made a real loud moanin' sound an I completely forgot bout bein' nice an gentle wit her. I jus started fuckin' her, thrustin' deep an hard an bottomin' out inside her. She was so tiny. My hands almost completely wrapped round her waist an I was just yankin' her gainst me harder an harder an she was moanin' an almost screamin' my name. Her lil voice was hoarse an then her hands slipped an she fell forward. Her front slammed up gainst the shower wall an I jus followed her. I thrust hard as I could an jus kept fuckin' her like that with her up on her toes an her back pressed gainst my chest. I bit down on her neck an her arm wrapped up round my neck an played with the hair on the back of my neck. I got hold of that lil nub an started rubbin' it fast as I could until I felt her squeezin' round me an she moaned my name an I moaned hers an came inside a her hard.

She fell up gainst the wall with her head on the wall an I pushed up gainst her too. I jus couldn' make myself stand straight up anymore an the water jus pounded down on my back, gettin' colder an colder. She moaned an I stepped away from her, my dick fallin' heavy back between my legs. I grabbed her when it looked like her legs were gonna give out an she whimpered my name. I kissed the side a her head an muttered, "I gotcha, Jesse. Water's cold now. Can' wait til ya get the lectric set up in here so we kin have hot water all the time."

"I still have to wash my hair."

I laughed an stepped back, draggin' her an me into the cold water pourin' down from the shower. She gave a girly lil scream an smacked my arm. We washed real quick after that. She had a whole buncha dirt on her arms an face from workin' down in the generator room an I had dirt all over me from shit. Felt real good fer her to be scrubbin' the sweat an dirt all outta my hair. Loved her lil fingers workin' over my scalp. We got nice an clean, even wit all the cold water an then I dried her off real good wit the towel an we ended up fuckin' up gainst the door gain wit her legs wrapped tight round my waist an her nails diggin' into my shoulder.


	13. Chapter 13

Then we got dressed an we went back to the main hall. Lil Bit was sittin' in Johnny's lap, noddin' off, half sleepin' while the fucker an the bitch were tellin' her stories bout her as a baby. Johnny was rollin' his eyes but holdin' onto Lil Bit real tight. Beth was sittin' next to him wit Lucas snuggled into her side. He was half sleepin' too.

Jesse walked over an picked up Lil Bit on her hip an glared at the fuckers. She ordered, "Tell her good night. I'm taking her to bed."

They said good night an Jesse turned to me to hand me Lil Bit so she could pick up Lucas but I said, "I'll get him. We gotta take him to bed first, don' we?"

She nodded an I picked Lucas up an settled him on my hip. Beth's belly was gettin' a lil more swollen. When we took the kids, Johnny helped Lucas up an they took off towards their cell. Jesse an I carried the kids down to the other cell block an I put Jesse down on the bed in the cell that she said belonged to Lucas. He looked up at me wit them big green eyes all sleepy an said, "Tell me a story."

"Jesse," I called out to her.

"No," the boy said real stubborn. "You tell me a story."

"I don't know no stories."

Jesse laughed an came in the cell wit Lil Bit on her hip. She said, "I can tell you a story, Lucas."

"But he knows stories about deers."

"Don' know how to tell stories none."

"Poppa Daryl don' know stories that great," Lil Bit said sleepily. "But Jesse Momma tells good stories. You should come with us and she'll tell you a story and you can stay with us."

Me an Jesse stared at each other. I knew she loved Lucas an was takin' care a him an playin' momma to him but movin' him in wit us was a big step that we weren' gonna be takin'. Jesse said softly, "Arlene, Lucas has to stay in here. We can tell him a story and then we can go to bed but he has to stay in here. Maybe you can have a sleepover some other night."

That lil boy looked at us wit big, sad eyes an Lil Bit looked at us wit her big sad eyes an I found myself reachin' down to pick the kid back up. I looked over at Jesse an said, "He kin stay wit us. Jus fer the night. It'll be alright."

She looked at me like she wanted to ask me a question but she didn'. She jus followed me to our room. Lil Bit thanked me fer her bed an then snuggled into the middle a ours an smiled up at me. I put Lucas down in the middle a the bed wit Lil Bit an Jesse told them both a story bout Bambi an, in seconds, they were asleep. I found her peekin' over them at me an I said, "Jus ask whatever question ya got in ya."

"Why did you bring Lucas in here? He's not ours. You didn't have to do that."

"Might as well be yers as much as ya've had him since he's been here."

"But that doesn't mean that he has to be yours as well, Daryl."

I glared at her an warned, "What's mine is yers an what's yers is mine. We ain't married or nothin' but we share Lil Bit an we share a bed an we shared what we had in the shower earlier. So if we're gonna take Lucas in, we're both gonna take him in."

"We'll need another bed then," she jus said. Then she reached over the babies, put her hand on mine, an closed her eyes.

After that first night with Lucas, Daryl started picking him up every night and carrying him to our room with us. We woke up every morning with Arlene's foot in my back and Lucas half sprawled across Daryl. I wanted to ask Arlene to sleep in her own bed but I felt too bad. I didn't want my little girl to think I was replacing her with a new kid so I kept her in the bed, hoping somebody would make a trip into town and get a new bed. I almost asked Michonne to, but I didn't think she'd take that well. She was always so busy with Rick and planning that she seemed absolutely disgusted at the thought of doing anything for anyone else. Then, on the fifth day that Lucas was sleeping in our room, Rick walked over to me while I was washing dishes with Carol. Tyreese, Michonne, and Daryl were drawing up plans to start fortifying the prison. None of us had forgotten that the Governor was still out there. Even with three weeks of peace, there was no forgetting why we had parentless children. There was no forgetting what brought Eric and Kyra to our doorstep.

"I couldn't help but notice that you and Daryl have Lucas with you an awful lot now," Rick said slowly.

My eyes snapped to the corner of the prison, where Beth and Carl were working with the smaller children on reading. Arlene was sitting right next to Lucas, showing him the words in the books, even though there was no way the toddler would be able to read them himself. I answered, "Yeah, he's taken a liking to Daryl and Daryl seems to like him as well."

"And you're handling that fine with Arlene?"

"Yes. She sees Lucas as a little brother. She's really excited to have him around."

"Well, uh, I'm here to talk to you about Arlene, Jesse."

My eyes snapped to him and then back over to Arlene. I gripped the table the washtub was sitting on, trying to fight the urge to run to her and Lucas and grab them both up, protect them, keep them from whatever Rick was about to ask me about. Instead, I demanded, "What about her?"

"Eric and Kyra…"

"I should stop you now, Rick. They get their hour a day with her. Sometimes more. Sometimes less, depending on Kyra's attitude. They have dinner with her, Arlene reads to Eric sometimes, Kyra braids her hair. What else do they want?"

"They want her to spend…"

"No."

"You didn't even hear everything I had to say."

"I don't care about the rest of it. They get their hour a day. They don't need anything else and they definitely don't need to have my daughter spending the night with them."

"Jesse, you had to know this was coming. They're her parents. She's not going to live with them. She'll still be with you and Daryl. Just one night, every now and then."

"Have you talked to Daryl about this?" I didn't even look at Rick. I kept my eyes on Lucas and my little girl.

"Well, honestly, Jesse, I figured I was a lot less likely to get shot if I talked to you about it. Daryl's not one to speak calmly about things."

"But you think I am? It's August, Rick, almost September. Johnny and I got here in March. Daryl's known me for five months. He's known Arlene for four months. I've been around Arlene since she was two years old. I've killed men before over Arlene. I will not hesitate to kill those two because you tell me it's their right to see my daughter."

Rick sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose like he always did when he was frustrated. He said, "Look, Jesse, think of it like court ordered custody. What happened when you didn't follow court orders before?"

"I'd be thrown in jail. Newsflash, Rick, we're living in a prison."

"Exactly. Lot of cells here, Jesse. There are two ways to do this. You cooperate and Arlene spends one night with Eric and Kyra. A trial run. If they do well, they get to see her again. If they don't, she never spends the night with them again. You don't cooperate, I lock you in a cell, Arlene spends the night with them anyway."

"Daryl isn't going to let you lock me in a cell just so Eric and Kyra can take Arlene for the night."

"No, he won't. Which is why I'll put you both in cells. On separate sides of the prison."

"We'll leave," I threatened.

"No, you won't. Beth is four months pregnant. She won't be safe out there. Johnny can't leave because Beth can't leave. You won't leave your brother over a custody battle. Do the right thing, Jesse. You don't want to pick up Arlene and take her away from a safe place. You don't want to make Daryl leave his family. All you have to do is let Arlene stay with them for one night. You don't have to let them have her all day. You drop her off when it's time for her to sleep, pick her up first thing in the morning. It won't do any damage."

"I don't trust them."

"You don't have to. Just let them have her for one night. Everything will be fine. You will be fine."

I looked over at Daryl and Tyreese and found Daryl staring. I nodded my head towards Rick and Daryl put down what he was doing to wander over. He asked, "Whatcha talkin' bout?"

"Rick wants us to let Arlene stay with Eric and Kyra," I informed him.

"No." His answer was stubborn, steadfast.

"Daryl, I need you and Jesse to be reasonable. She's not moving in with them permanently. They just want her to spend one night. A trial run. One night, and, if it works, you split custody of her."

"No. Ain't gonna happen. Starts out that way. One night every now an then. Then the fuckers get more nights an then she's stayin' wit them almost every night. Then we don' have her no more cause we ain't her _real parents_. Ain't gonna fuckin' happen. They only started this shit cause we got Lucas livin' wit us now. Don' mean we're givin' up Lil Bit."

"Rick, excuse me!" Kyra's voice had Daryl and I both glaring towards the door. She was standing in the doorway with the youngest girl, Heather, on her hip and Elizabeth standing next to her.

"Kyra, now isn't really the best time. What do you need?" Rick asked wearily.

"I just wanted to take the kids out to the yard. I'll keep a close eye on them."

"Fine. Take Beth with you," Rick sighed.

"This counts as your one hour a day," I warned her. "Beth is your supervision. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah," she snapped. "Loud and clear, sir."

"Shut up," Daryl snarled.

She nodded and Beth lifted herself off the floor to follow Kyra with Arlene and Lucas. Rick turned his attention back to us.

"Look, I know that you two aren't giving up Arlene. I'm not asking you to."

"Ya ain't askin' us to right now," Daryl interrupted. "When they first got here, we didn' have to do shit. Then we had to start lettin' 'em see her. Then they started eatin' dinner wit us. Now, yer askin' us to let Lil Bit stay wit 'em. Next thing we know, we're gonna be the ones eatin' dinner wit her an missin' her at night."

I reached out and slipped my fingers into the back of his jeans so that I could yank Daryl backwards, where he couldn't slam his finger into Rick's chest anymore.

"It's not like that, Daryl. You are not going to lose Arlene. This is just a preliminary. Let them try. Just once, let her stay with them. See how it goes. If it goes well, you pick when she stays. If it goes badly…"

"We might never see our daughter again," I finished for him.

"Look, Jesse already knows that, one way or the other, Arlene is going to be staying with Eric and Kyra in two days. That's all the time you have to prepare yourselves. Daryl, you will let Arlene stay with them or I will lock you and Jesse in a cell and you will not get the choice of walking your daughter to their room. You will not have the choice of picking her up in the morning. I will lock you in a cell and you can deal with explaining to her why Jesse Momma and Poppa Daryl are locked in a cell."

I glared at him and Daryl exploded, "Rick, ya fuckin' keep this shit up an I'm gonna put a arrow in yer ass. Ya can't take Lil Bit from us."

"And, I'm not, Daryl. But you have to understand that…"

There was a scream from outside. The long, high pitched scream of a small child.


	14. Chapter 14

For being amazing reviewers, and because my nephew/Godson was just born and I'm super happy, here is an update a little early.

Daryl and I didn't pause. We both scrambled toward the door instantly, knocking over the tubs of dishwater on our way out the cell block. We made it out in the yard in time to see Kyra scrambling up the hill towards us with Arlene dragging behind. I grabbed Arlene from her and checked her quickly for injuries. Daryl was already on his way down the hill where Beth was dragging Lucas up.

I ordered, "Beth, get Lucas and Arlene inside and take them to a cell. Now."

I rushed down the hill and found Daryl with Elizabeth on his hip. He ordered, "Jesse, go back up the hill. Take this baby an go back up the hill."

"Where's Heather, Daryl? Where is Heather?" His knife was missing from his thigh.

"Jesse, take this baby, an get on back up to Lucas an Lil Bit. Go." His voice was hard but his eyes wouldn't meet mine. He kept glancing past me, down at the ground, everywhere but at me. So I looked past Daryl and that's when I saw the crawler that was laying on the ground, its legs missing and its hand covered in blood. I followed the line of blood, and saw the child. The little dark haired, green eyed child. Heather. The one whose parents went down in the first round, according to Karen. The one who was calm and collected and played dolls with my little girl. The one who'd never done anything to anyone.

I brushed past Daryl and raced to the little girl who was sitting in the grass with her knees drawn to her chest, staring down at her arm, which had a long gash down the forearm. I dropped in the grass next to her and she stared up at me with those wide, child eyes. She whimpered, "It grabbed me, Jezze."

I bit my lip, trying to hold back the scream that was bubbling up in my throat as I tried not to look towards the crawler in the grass. She asked, "Am I going to die, Jezze?"

I didn't know what to tell the child. It wasn't like I was that close to her. It wasn't like I was playing mother to the child like I was with Arlene and Lucas. I just pulled my shirt off quickly and wrapped it around her arm, trying to stem the blood flow. Of course it didn't matter if I stopped the blood from flowing. It didn't matter if I stitched the damn wound up myself. The little girl was going to die. She was going to die and then she was going to come back. And somebody was going to have to put a bullet in her head. I lifted the child up and Daryl walked over to me. He stared at Heather and then his eyes met mine. They were tired and sad. He said softly, "Carol took the other lil girl up to the prison. Lil Bit an the boy are wit Johnny an Beth. Rest a the kids are on lockdown. All a 'em. Even Carl. Ya take her on up. Got through the fence right there."

He pointed to the small hole in the fence, just small enough for a crawler. I demanded, "How did it get through both fences?"

"Don' know. Gonna look an try to find out. Get her on up to the block."

He glanced up at the prison and I followed his line of sight to the group of people who were watching us. When I turned my head back to him, he surprised me by leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. He promised, "Ya need anything when it comes to that lil one" He nodded at Heather. "ya tell me. Nobody else, got it? I'll take care a it an I'll take care a ya."

I nodded and he pushed me towards the prison. I cradled Heather in my arms and made my way up to where Rick, Tyreese, Eric, Sasha, Glenn, Michonne, Maggie, and Johnny were gathered around. Tyreese had his gun drawn. Michonne had her hand on the handle of her sword and I glared at them. I ordered, "Get Hershel."

"Jesse, you have to understand that there's nothing…"

"Stop. Just stop right now," I interrupted Tyreese. "This isn't an adult we're talking about. This isn't somebody who can handle it. This is a little girl."

I looked down at Heather and promised, "We're going to take care of you, honey. I'm just going to take you on to bed."

"Now, Jesse, you have to be reasonable about…"

"I'm done being reasonable, Rick. You want Arlene to stay with Eric and Kyra so bad, you keep telling me she'll be safe. This is what happens when you let Kyra be in charge. This is what happens when you don't take care of things around here. Now, I'm going to get Heather tucked into bed and comfortable and I'm going to sit with her and take care of her. Now somebody go get Hershel."

"My dad doesn't need dragged into this."

"Please, shut up. All of you, shut up."

I held Heather tighter to me and walked past them, into the prison, past the cell block where we were staying and out to one that was empty. I took Heather into an empty cell and lay her down on a mattress. She said softly, "Will you stay with me until I die, Miss Jesse?"

Jesse wasn' back in the cell when it was time fer Lil Bit an the boy to get some sleep. So I had to put them in bed an tell 'em some kinda story. I told 'em bout Bambi. Was the only story I knew cause the momma got shot but I tried to get round that part. Told 'em she died havin' Bambi stead. Thought Jesse'd like that more. I got 'em to bed an went up to the cell where they were keepin' Heather an where Jesse was sittin' wit her. Lil girl was sleepin' in the bed an Jesse was sittin' next to her wit a wet rag on her head.

"Hey," I said real quiet cause I didn' wanna wake up the lil girl.

Jesse looked up at me wit her eyes all red an her cheeks all smudged wit tears. I went over an knelt on the floor next to her chair. I whispered, "How's she doin'?"

"She hasn't turned yet," Jesse answered. "I'm just waiting on it. I have to shoot her. I have to shoot a little girl."

Jesse sniffled an I reached over an patted her hand. She turned to me an threw her arms round my shoulders an put her face in my neck an her lil sniffles turned into quiet lil whines an sobs. I said real nice, "Jesse, ya don' have to…don' worry bout…I won' make ya…I'll do it."

"What?" she breathed into my shoulder.

"I'll take care a the lil girl when she wakes up. I ain't gonna make ya do that. I've done it 'fore. I can do it now."

"No," she said real stubborn. "I won't make you do that, Daryl."

"I done it fore, Jesse. I done it with Dale an he was still alive. I had to take care a my brother. I kin make sure it's taken care a. Ya don' have to have nothin' to do wit it."

"Daryl, I can do this. I had to put my grandpa down. I barely know this child. I can do it. I won't make you do that."

"Ain't makin' me do nothin'." I pushed her back so I could look at her stead a her havin' her face hid in my shoulder. "I don' want ya to have to do this shit. This is makin' ya all fucked up. Ya weren' even in there wit Lil Bit an the boy when they went to bed."

"Are they sleeping well?"

"Out like a light. They missed yer bed time story an they really wanted ya to be there but I told 'em ya had some stuff to take care a. I told 'em the story a Bambi though."

"Even the part about her Mom getting shot?"

"Nah. I didn' think ya wanted 'em to hear bout that. Told 'em she died havin' Bambi."

"Did you go into detail?"

"Not too much. Told 'em he was too big fer her an she didn' make it. The boy was a lil upset but then Lil Bit told him that ya can' have babies so that made him feel better. No chances of ya dyin' tryin' to have one."

"I already have two."

"So we're takin' Lucas in fer sure?"

"Well, he's basically already living with us."

"So I gotta son too?" I liked that a lot. Didn' know much bout lil girls. Knew how to take care a lil boys though.

"Yep. We have a son."

"Good. An, Jesse, let me take care a the lil girl. Don' want ya havin' to do stuff like that. 'm here to take care a ya. Let me."

"We'll stay together."

"'mon then. I ain't gonna sit on this damn floor all night. Get up."

I pushed her offa the chair an got up in it. I pulled her down on my lap an put my arms round her. We sat together an every now an then she'd get up to put a wet rag on the lil girl's head an hold her hand. The lil girl was tossin' an turnin' all night, wakin' up every few hours an cryin' so Jesse would rock her to sleep, which was fuckin' dangerous since the lil girl could turn into a god damn walker any minute. But tellin' Jesse anythin' didn' do shit cause there was no way she was gonna listen. Fuckin' lil psychopath didn' do nothin' I ever told her so I didn' see no reason to keep tellin' her shit. I just clung tighter to the Beretta I pulled outta the back a her pants when she stood up an I focused real hard on that lil girl not bitin' my woman.

Was bout dawn when the lil girl went completely silent in her sleep. Didn' make no noise, didn' move a muscle, an we watched her chest stop movin'. I said, "I'll check her, Jesse."

"No, Daryl. You're already planning on taking care of her. I'm not going to make you check her too."

"Jesse, I…"

But she was already up offa my lap an had her hand on the lil girl's neck. She waited a second, nodded, an asked, "Should we take her outside first?"

"Don' really want neither a us carryin' her wit the chance she might wake up an bite one a us."

"We'll wrap her in the blanket. I think it's better we do it out there. Do you have a belt?"

"Yep. Wanna put it round her mouth?"

"Yeah. I hate to do it but it really is better that it's done outside. We can bury her out there as well."

We put my belt in her mouth an Jesse wrapped her up real tight. I didn' let Jesse carry her none but she was right behind me wit the gun. The pile in my arms started movin' soon as we made it outta the cell block an I told her, "We gotta hurry up. Ya wanna do this over by the fence?"

"Yes. Please, let's just keep her wrapped up. I don't want to see…."

"I know."

By the time we got down to the fence, even with us hurryin', she was floppin' round like a fish on a line an we rushed her down to the fence an dropped her by it. Jesse looked away while I took careful aim an shot through the sheets. Blood spread quicker than a hare bein' hunted by a fox an I heard Jesse let out a lil wail behind me fore I turned round an let her wrap her arms round my neck. Neither a us talked bout her cryin' or me holdin' her there wit my face in her hands. We just went on up to our room, took our shoes off, an climbed into bed wit Lil Bit an our boy. I waited til Jesse was good an asleep an then I went out to the cell block an asked the Chinaman an fucker to go out there an bury the lil girl's body an had Johnny make her a nice lil cross. Didn' really want the fucker to be out there helpin' bury that lil girl since his bitch was the one let her get killed, but he was the only one free then. Carol asked bout Jesse an I told her she was dead asleep an asked her to watch Lil Bit an our boy when they woke up so Jesse wouldn' have to. Then I told Rick I wouldn' be doin' nothin' an I went back to the room to lay back down wit Jesse an our babies.

Was a coupla hours fore I woke up wit my face in Jesse's hair an her half sprawled cross my chest. She was makin' lil snuffin' noises in her sleep an her hand was tightenin' an loosenin' on my shirt, scratchin' my skin a lil from a hole in the side. I reached down an grabbed her hand to move it offa my side an she wriggled, wakin' up real slow. She looked up at me an blinked her big green eyes an asked, "Is somebody burying Heather?"

"Yep. I got Glenn an yer brother watchin' over the fucker. They're diggin' the grave, gonna make her a lil cross fer her grave. Gonna take real good care a her."

"Good. I guess we should get up and get to work."

"No. Ain't gonna move all day. Ya kin do all the work ya wanna do tomorrow. But today, ya an me are in bed all day."

"Daryl, you can't keep me in bed everytime you think I need a break."

"Well, last time ya didn' stay in bed so this time we're both gonna stay in bed. No bitchin' bout it today, Jesse. Ain't repeatin' myself."

"Alright, Daryl. What are we going to do in bed all day?"

"Ya kin talk to me. An I'll lay here an think bout listenin'."

"You're an ass." But she laughed an I laughed an we curled up in bed all day an sometimes I listened to her talk an sometimes we had sex an sometimes I asked her questions but we stayed together all day. Then, at dinner, Lil Bit sat in my lap an our boy sat in her lap an the fucker an the bitch glared at us.


	15. Chapter 15

Daryl and I were down in the tombs, I was double checking the measurements and everything I needed for the windmill installation. He was over to the side, watching the hallway while I measured. I leaned to measure the wall when I saw it. A trail of blood with bits of flesh, leading to the supply closet. I unsheathed my knife from my hip and made my way over to it quietly, following the gory mess that led from a circle of red in the center. I knocked on the door of the supply closet and heard nothing stir within. Walkers always made noise when they were riled up, even if they were half gone anyway.

I slowly opened the door and stepped back as it swung open. I was shocked at what lay before me. A pile of walkers. Five of them. I called out, "Daryl, have you been down here lately?"

"Not fore now, Jesse," he yelled back as the sound of his feet on the concrete began moving towards me. He reached me quickly and stared over top of me, looking into the supply closet at the pile of bodies. He demanded, "Anyone else been down here, Jesse?"

"No. Rick said it's been off limits since the hole in the back hasn't been patched up," I answered.

"Well those weren' fuckin' killed by the fuckin' hand a God an they sure as fuck weren' killed by one a our people, less Tyreese is lettin' one a his wonder round down here without permission an that jus don' sound like him."

"Which means that there is somebody else down here with us, Daryl, and we need to tell the others."

"Go," he ordered. "We need to lock this shit up on our way back."

Daryl's hand settled on my lower back and he pushed me forwards. His crossbow came up to his shoulder so fast I could hear the knock it made when it met the bone. I kept my knife up and pulled my gun from the back of my pants. Daryl kept his hand on me while we made our way out of the generator room and locked the door. Daryl said quietly, "Gonna get us some chains an padlocks today. We're goin' into town, ya an me. Put Michonne an Tyreese on the doors. Sasha an Maggie up in the towers. Rick an Glenn out by the gate. Johnny ain't gonna want Beth in no danger. Put her wit Carol an Herschel an the babies. Get Karen in there too."

The only time Daryl really talked a lot was when he was pissed off, apologizing, or planning. He pushed me forward and followed behind me with that crossbow out, whipping around every now and then to check behind us as we made our way out of the tombs. When we exited through a door, he would take the spot in front of me while I shut it behind me. We made our way up to the cell block and we shut and locked that door carefully. Carol, Beth, Kyra, and Maggie were sitting inside, planning out Maggie's nuptials. She understood that nothing big could be done so she was planning a walk down a makeshift aisle, Herschel doing the honors, and a big dinner with the entire prison. Daryl had killed a deer the day before so the wedding had to be done the next day. Carol looked up at us and her eyes widened when she realized that Daryl's crossbow was up on his shoulder. She stood up quickly and made her way over to us.

"What's going on?" she whispered in that soft voice that only Carol had.

"Someone's been movin' round down in the tombs. Gonna ask Rick an Tyreese if any a his group been down there but it don' look like it's any a ours," Daryl answered in his low grumble.

"Do you think it could be the…Governor?"

"We don't know," I replied. "We're going to talk to Rick, go into town to get some chains and padlocks, and then we'll figure out what to do from there. We just don't want to worry anybody right now."

Daryl nodded in agreement. Carol sighed, "This couldn't be at a worse time. It's only been a week since Heather died and we're trying to bring a little joy with this wedding. Do you think it will last two days? Just long enough to finish the wedding."

"Don' know. Don' know if we kin risk it. We'll talk to Rick an get it figgered out."

Carol stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Daryl on the cheek quickly and then dodged his hand as he swatted at her. She rolled her eyes and kissed me on the cheek too. Then she hurried back over to the group. Daryl grabbed my hand and yanked me forward, toward the door. We made our way outside and located Rick at the other end of the yard, by the fence. Johnny was standing next to him, leaning against the metal. Elizabeth, Arlene, and Lucas were playing in the yard with the older children, like Carl, watching over them diligently. Eric and Hershel were standing in the middle of the yard, surveying them occasionally. Neither I nor Daryl particularly liked it that Eric was the one watching over the children but there wasn't much that we could do about it and we took some solace in the fact that Hershel was with him. Glenn took residence in one guard tower with Karen and Tyreese and Sasha were in the other. Michonne was up on the roof, watching both ends of the prison. Since Heather's death, the entire prison had been more vigilant.

"Rick, we gotta talk to ya. Now!" Daryl called out.

He looked up and started walking towards us as we made our way to him. When we met in the middle, Rick asked, "What's going on?"

"We found some dead walkers in the tombs. An we didn' kill 'em. We don' know who did neither. Any a Tyreese's group been down there?" Daryl asked.

"Not that I know of. He would have told us if he sent any of them down there. Are you sure they're fresh?"

"Been killed real recent. Still see the blood stains on the floor an they weren' accidental deaths an they had head wounds. Someone's been down there an, with the back still open, it's somethin' we gotta take care a. An soon."

"Shit," Rick cussed. "Tyreese said the Governor and his men knew that there was an entrance in the back but it's so damn confusing in there that, if they got in, they'd be lost for weeks before they found their way around."

"Well, whoever's down there, we gotta get 'em taken care a. Jesse an I are gonna go into town an get some chains an padlock. We're gonna take care a it. We'll only be gone a couple a hours."

Johnny walked over and asked, "What's goin' on?"

"Somebody's been down in the tombs. Me an Jesse are goin' into town to get some shit to lock it up. Watch Lil Bit an the boy fer us. We'll be back in a couple hours. Have somebody watchin' the doors to the rest a the prison."

"We'll just get it locked up tonight. We'll figure out where to go from there after we've got that taken care of. Maggie and Glenn will do their nuptials tomorrow and we'll have everything taken care of within the next few days," Rick ordered.

Daryl nodded at him and commanded, "'mon, Jesse. Gotta get goin' fast."

I nodded and he reached down to grab my hand tight in his. He yelled, "Lil Bit, Boy, 'mere fer a second. Me an yer Jesse Momma gotta talk to ya."

I froze for just a second and stared up at him. In five minutes, Daryl had completely taken the reigns from me, decided what we were going to do, decided what to do to protect our daughter and our new son, and then decided to tell them what we were doing. He'd gone from the redneck I'd originally met who hated discussing anything, left everything up to chance, and preferred listening over explaining; to the man who stood before me who thought of the kids first, took charge of the situations involving our family, and was the leader of our small family. It was a strange change, one that made my heart thrum a little faster and my stomach churn oddly. I shook my head and focused on the two children running towards us, Arlene was grasping Lucas's hand tight in her own, almost pulling him after her. We knelt as one to meet them.

"What we doin'?" Lucas asked, his little voice slipping into Daryl's accent. Tyreese told me that Lucas's family was originally from Brooklyn but there was nothing of that accent left in his voice. He'd picked up on Daryl's and the three year old sounded just like him. Dirty blonde, almost brown hair and green eyes similar enough to my own to pass off as my child. Between Daryl and I, Arlene and Lucas had enough traits of both of us that, if it weren't the end of the world, nobody would have questioned that the children were ours. Arlene with her crystal blue eyes, her solemn way of answering questions, and her newfound habit of chewing on her thumbnail brought forth a strange image of a tiny, female Daryl Dixon.

"Jesse Momma an I are gonna head into town an get some stuff we gotta have. Gonna take the bike so we'll be back 'fore dark. Two a ya stay real close to Uncle Johnny or Carol, ya got me?"

"Yes, Poppa Daryl," Arlene said obediently.

"Yep," Lucas agreed.

"Alright. 'have yerselves."

"I love you, Arlene Edith. I love you, Lucas William," I said calmly. I pressed kisses to Arlene and Lucas's foreheads. Daryl ruffled their hair. We both hugged them quickly and sent them towards the prison.

"I don't like leaving them here. I'm tempted to take one of the trucks and put them in it," I admitted.

"Only take us a coupla hours, Jesse. Ain't no reason to get in a fuss over it."

"Daryl, there is somebody in that prison. The place where I thought our kids were safe. And we are planning on leaving them here while we run off."

"Ain't gonna be gone long. We ain't runnin' off. We're gonna get some shit an make it safer fer 'em," Daryl promised. "Why we're takin' the bike. Helluva lot faster. Now get yer ass movin' woman. We gotta a lot to get done."

Daryl smacked me on the ass and pushed me towards where he parked his bike. He climbed on and I climbed up behind him. Rick and Johnny opened the gate and we took off through it.


	16. Chapter 16

Okay, so I need you guys to know that I'm not ignoring your suggestions. It's just that I don't write the stories as I post them. When I start posting them, there's already a one hundred percent completely finished word document sitting in my computer that I've gone over three or four times to make sure I'm completely happy with it. So I love your reviews and I love all of my faithful followers (and thank you so much for reviewing because I want nothing more than your feedback). I just want you to know that it's not up to me to change things anymore. The end already exists.

I clung tight to Daryl as he raced towards the nearest town. We ignored the small amount walkers milling around on the roads and made our way into town. The walkers that were moving around were slower, mostly starved, and we ignored the ones we could. We made our way to the hardware store and killed the walker lumbering around the front.

"Gettin' slower out here," Daryl commented. "Ain't as worried bout 'em no more an that's what's gonna get people killed. Cause those things ain't gonna die. They're gonna be movin' round an we're gonna not be ready fer 'em."

"Nah. You'll keep everybody on their toes."

"Damn straight, woman. Ya ain't getting' yerself killed on my watch. Now get a move on, damn ya."

We made our way into the store and Daryl checked while I made my way over to the chains. I began looping them over my shoulder quickly, not paying attention to how many I grabbed or the thickness of them. I grabbed as many as I could carry before Daryl made his way over to me and surveyed them appreciatively. He ordered, "Get the locks. Ya ain't gonna be able to carry no more on yer tiny ass."

He took over and I grabbed a green canvas duffel bag on my way over to the locks. I grabbed as many as I could and called out, "You got everything?"

"Everythin' I kin carry."

"We better get back."

"Git yer ass movin' then woman."

I laughed and made my way out towards the bike. I looked over my shoulder at Daryl and studied him. His furrowed brow. The way his lips turned down in a worried frown. The stormy anger that clouded his blue eyes. He was so beautiful and my body felt a little lighter at the thought of him watching over me and our family. It was so strange that, at the end of the world, I'd found the family I'd always wanted. I smiled and opened my mouth to speak when Daryl yelled, "Jesse, look out!"

Then, I felt the grip on my ankle and I looked down at the crawler who had its cold, iron hand around my ankle and was pulling itself towards my boot, it's mouth half open, letting me know without a doubt that it was going to be having a snack soon. I struggled to find my knife, buried underneath all of the chains that rested against my thigh. Daryl's eyes widened and he fumbled with his crossbow. I'd never seen him fumble or pause. But he was struggling to get his arrow notched. I kicked my foot out, connecting with the crawler's head but not doing enough damage as its mouth came down on my ankle. Luckily, the boots I wore kept me protected. But it began gnawing and, when I raised my foot to kick again, I tumbled backwards, landing on my ass. The crawler began scrambling up my leg and I kicked out at its face, pushing it backwards. I struggled more with my knife, cursing myself for following the pattern Daryl had laid out for me, a half hour before. I was powerless. My hand found the handle of my knife just as Daryl's knife embedded itself in the crawler's skull.

"Shit!" he shouted. He ran over and grabbed me under the arms, hauling me up and shoving me towards his bike. He climbed on and pulled me on after him, barely giving me time to adjust before he'd peeled out of the parking lot and was racing back towards the prison. I tightened my hold on him and wanted to rest my face against his back, to gain some small comfort from him, but I couldn't because the chains were in the way.

About a mile up the road from the prison, he surprised me by pulling over and stopping the bike. He ordered, "Off the bike fer a second, Jesse."

"Daryl, I wasn't bit," I informed him quickly. "I'm not bit so you can't leave me here."

"Ain't bout ya bein' bit or not, woman. Jus, please, get offa the bike so I kin talk to ya. Please."

I climbed off the bike slowly and prepared myself for Daryl to leave me, but instead, when I climbed off the bike, he joined me and grabbed my face in his rough, callused hands. He stared down at me for a long moment with his lips pursed together tightly. Finally, he said in a hoarse whisper, "I couldn' load my damn bow. Ya were gonna get bit an I fucked up. Ain't never froze up like that fore."

"It's okay, Daryl. It took us both by surprise. It was hidden behind a cart. I didn't see it either."

"Ain't okay, Jesse. 'm sposed a be takin' care a ya. An here I am not even bein' able to shoot one fuckin' crawler was tryin' to gnaw on yer ankle. I loaded ya down wit chains an I blocked off yer damn knife an was my fault ya almost got eaten."

"Daryl, I didn't see the walker either. I wasn't paying attention and I should have known better than to not have my knife at hand. I was being stupid and it almost got me killed."

"An I didn' shoot the walker like I oughta."

"It's fine, Daryl. It's really okay."

"Almost lost ya, Jesse." He stared at me harder and leaned forward to press a hard kiss to my lips. "Damn, Jesse. Every fuckin' time I let ya do anythin', ya go out an get yerself half killed."

"I'm not half killed, Daryl. It barely got me. I should have been paying attention."

"Can' lose ya, Jesse. Won' lose ya. I….I…"

I stared at him for a second before I covered his hands with my own, leaned up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips over his. I pulled away and whispered, "I love you."

"Same," he said seriously and I laughed. He glared and I informed him, "I'll take it. It's you. It's who you are and I'd never want you to be anything different."

I laughed again and he glared again. I explained, "I'm not laughing at you, you stupid redneck. I'm laughing because we have two kids together and we're just now saying the L word. We're ridiculous."

"Yer ridiculous, ya lil fuckin' psycho," he answered but the smile in his eyes let me know that he wasn't serious.

"We need to get back to the prison, Daryl. We have a lot we have to take care of."

"An we're gonna get it done tonight."

Daryl climbed back on his bike and I climbed behind him. I clasped my hands around his waist and he took a second to rest his rough hand against mine before he took off again. We were back at the prison in no time and we deposited the chains outside the door. It was dinner time and Lucas and Arlene were sitting with Beth and Johnny. When we walked in, they leapt up and ran to us and I picked up Lucas and Daryl picked up Arlene and we held them close.

When Rick split us up, I wanted to go wit Jesse but he thought it'd be better to split us up so that our stronger points weren't wit each other. Protectin' the weaker ones. He put Glenn an Sasha, Kyra an Michonne, Rick an Tyreese, me an fucker, an Johnny an Jesse. He didn' wanna at first but the twins ganged up an argued that they were better as a team than they were apart. Was a good point. Two of 'em survived out there fer months without anybody else an havin' a baby wit 'em.

Plan was to take a few chains each an head into the tombs, lock up the door we didn' use, color code the keys wit paint. Blue chain, blue key. Red key, red chain. Three keys to each color, that way, keys got stolen, it would take a bit to figure out which key went to which chain. Fer a lil bit, we all walked together. Then, we split into smaller groups. The other groups went off one way an me, Johnny, Jesse, an fucker went off to the side. Johnny an I put Jesse in tween us. Jesse an fucker facin' the front, Johnny an me watchin' the back. Then, we had to split again an I thought bout touchin' Jesse, huggin' her or somethin' fore she took off but stead, I just told her to be careful. She nodded at me an reached out to grab my hand. She squeezed it fer a second fore she turned wit her brother an took off.

Those two were somethin' me an Merle never were. Even when we were at our best, we never were as good as the twins. Was weird. Like they were almost one person when they were fightin' or movin' like they were. Like jungle cats wit their easy movements. Merle an I, closest we ever come was to knowin' not to shoot at the same game.

I went the other way wit fucker. We went on, chainin' doors shut in silence, takin' 'em offa me so I could get to my weapons easier, case a attack. Better fer me to be able to defend us than fer fucker to try anythin'. Damn right useless. We got to the second door and he decided it was alright fer him to talk.

"So you and Jesse adopted Lucas?"

"Yep."

"Isn't it a lot to look after two kids? I mean, Arlene's getting big. What do you know about little girls?"

I shrugged an said, "Jus teachin' her shit she needs to know."

"There's a lot you have to know about kids."

"Gotta keep 'em safe an happy."

"More than that. God, when Arlene was born, I had no clue what to do. You know, girls are a lot different than boys."

"No shit, asshole."

"You know, I really wanted a little boy. I mean, I loved Arlene just the same, because she was mine, but I didn't know what to do. I had no idea how to take care of a little girl. I was lost. And then Kyra went and did her own thing. And I was just lost."

"Shoulda got yer shit together an took care a yer lil girl." Heard a groanin' round a corner an peeked round to see a walker shufflin' towards us. I put a bolt in its head quick an walked round. Fucker followed and we sighted the big ass hole in the wall. Lookin' out, we could see the woods an shit movin' round in the shadows. A few slow movin' shapes let me know there were still walkers movin' round.

"Is this what we have to fix?" Fucker asked, stoppin' talkin' bout Lil Bit fer a second.

"Yep."

"This is a big hole. It looks like it extends to more floors. Whoever's in here, could be on one of the other floors, or out in the woods."

"We'll find 'em. Ain't nobody comin' in here, fuckin' wit anybody in this place. Gonna make 'em wish they never come back." I walked down the other hallway an fucker ran to catch up to me.

"Anyway, I really was lost until Jesse came along and I will always be grateful to her for that."

"Keep Jesse's fuckin' name outta yer mouth if ya know what's good fer ya."

"I'm just saying, I don't hate her. Kyra and I aren't trying to hurt her. Or you. We've told you before. We just want to be around Arlene and it would help if you would let her stay with us."

"That's what ya wanna focus on at a time like this?"

"We just want Arlene to spend the night with us every now and then. We understand that we're not going to get her all the time. We just want to see her every now and then."

"Ain't gonna happen less Rick orders it. Me an Jesse, we take care a our lil girl an yer bitch almost got her killed. So we ain't lettin' her stay wit ya."

"Be reasonable."

"No. Ain't gonna be lettin' ya talk to me like ya think ya kin talk to Jesse. Ya ain't talkin' me down."

"I can't get anywhere with Jesse. She's got a thick skull. You must have noticed. She's stubborn."

"Ya say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is. You must have noticed how frustrating she is."

I shrugged. "Chain the door. Stubborn's good."

He chained the door to the basement an pocketed the key. "It has to frustrate you. It doesn't piss you off when she doesn't listen? It doesn't really make you mad when she goes against everything you ask her to do?"

"Got her own mind fer a reason. Don' need me tellin' her what to do or how to do it."

"But you know she doesn't always do what you ask. Even when it's for her own good. When you ask her to stay inside or just work on the solar panels. When you ask her not to go down in the tombs, with me."

"Shut the fuck up."

"It has to bother you. Knowing that, instead of staying with Arlene and your little boy, she came down in these tombs with me that day. To gather information."

"Didn' have Lucas when she came down here wit ya."

"Details really don't matter."

I glared at him an growled, "I know what yer tryin' to do. Tryin' to get me real riled up so I get mad at Jesse. But I ain't got a reason to be pissed at my woman. Got lots a reasons be pissed at ya. Got lots a reasons be pissed at yer woman. So keep my woman outta it."

"Look, I'm just trying to get to know you. I know how frustrating Jesse can be."

I was done talkin' to the stupid fucker. I turned round an pinned him gainst the wall an he tried to shove me offa him. Fucker was weak. He got me back a lil bit but I shoved back at him an slammed him gainst the wall again. I said real low, "Fuckin' leave Jesse alone. Ya fuckin' talk to her like she's a piece a trash when ya think nobody's round. Ya think ya kin make her feel bad bout who she is, what she does. Yer fuckin' wrong. She ain't yer woman no more. She ain't yer responsibility. She's mine an ya better fuckin' realize that. I ain't havin' this conversation no more. Ya ain't gonna talk bad bout Jesse. Ya fuckin' understand?"

"Yes." He was chokin' a lil an his face was turnin' red so I stepped back an let him go.

"'mon. We got shit to do, ya stupid piece a shit."

We got our job done an, when we got as far as we could with as many chains as we had, we turned round an started back. We met Jesse an Johnny comin' back. Jesse was grinnin' at Johnny, shovin' him real hard. They were both covered with slime an dirt. Knew they'd run into walkers soon as I saw 'em. I asked, "What happened?"

"Ran into a little group of walkers," Johnny said. "Bout ten. Fuckin' Jesse here killed bout six of 'em, turned round, an cut her arm on a damn nail stickin' outta the wall."

"Don't get all worked up just yet, Daryl. It's barely a scratch," Jesse said. Her cheeks were red from laughin' underneath all her dirt. "Johnny and I had a good time for a few minutes. Weirdly enough, we were able to forget what we were doing."

"How did you manage to have a good time in the tombs?" Fucker asked.

Jesse didn' even look at him, she just kept lookin' at me like she was answerin' me. "We, uh, we raced. We almost had a heart attack when we met that group of walkers."

Johnny snorted an said, "Bet ya wish ya weren' so much damn faster than me now."

She smacked him in the arm an said, "Come on. We need to get back up top."

She was ridin' high. She reached out an grabbed my hand. I yanked it back real quick an she stopped smilin'. She jus stared fer a second. She was so happy, laughin' wit Johnny an then I went an fucked it up. So I reached out an grabbed her hand again. I couldn' let her be feelin' bad in fronta that fucker. I pulled her to me an looked at her arm. I said, "We gotta get this cleaned out. Ya alright?"

She looked up at me fer a second like she was surprised an then she said, "Yeah. I'm alright. We should get back up top. I really need to wash off."

"I'll help ya. 'mon, woman."

I pulled her behind me wit her hand an Johnny an fucker followed us. She laced our fingers together an I squeezed her hand tight. Felt good in my hand. Felt right. We met up wit the other groups an made our way upstairs to wash up fer Maggie's weddin'.


	17. Chapter 17

"Do I look real pretty, Jesse Momma?"

"Of course you do, baby." She did look cute. She was wearing her little yellow sundress and her hair was flowing down her back. It was getting long enough to trail down to her tailbone. I made a mental note to trim it soon and I looked over at Daryl to find that his hair was getting shaggy too. It hung down in his eyes again. Daryl was straightening Lucas's dress shirt and pushing his hair down flat on his head. The closest I came to nice clothes was a green t shirt that was a little too tight and low cut for my preference and a pair of blue jeans. Daryl was even worse off than me. His jeans were basically held together by threads and his t shirt had the sleeves cut off and oil down the front. Daryl picked Arlene up on his shoulders and I rested Lucas on my hip.

We went outside to the lawn where Maggie, Beth, and Carol spent the morning laying sheets on the grass. The sheets formed an aisle that led to where Glenn and Rick were standing at the edge. Rick was Glenn's acting best man. On the other side was Beth, Maggie's acting maid of honor. I searched her for signs of a baby bump but couldn't find one under her baggy shirt. We sat down with Arlene on Daryl's lap and Lucas between my legs. Grace and Elizabeth ran over to join us. Since taking Lucas in, we'd become a magnet for the kids. Daryl was learning how to deal with it, but, for the most part, he just remained silent around the kids. Carol sat on the other side of me and nudged me cheerfully. She teased, "Maybe this will run in the family. Maggie to Beth. Johnny to you."

Daryl's head whipped around quick and he fixed his hard gaze on Carol. She chuckled and reached over me to pat his shoulder gently. She assured him, "Calm down, Daryl. We all know that you and Jesse aren't the marrying type."

"Hey!" I protested with a laugh. "I was engaged once."

"Pfft." Carol exhaled. "You can count that as being engaged like you can count my marriage to Ed as a real marriage."

I stuck my tongue out at her and Daryl snorted. He reached over me and pushed her. Instead of putting his hand back on his knee, he draped it around my waist casually and pulled me a little tighter. When I looked over at him, he informed me, "We ain't gettin' married no time soon, ya lil psycho."

"Who says I want to marry you anyway, you stupid redneck?" I shot back.

He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Arlene. I said to Carol, "Don't rile him up. The last thing we all need right now is us trying to kill one another. We haven't had a knock down drag out in a couple weeks. We're living in relationship bliss."

Carol snorted again and it was my turn to shove her gently. I asked, "Where's Judith?"

"With Johnny. Beth asked him to watch her during the wedding." As she said it, Johnny sat down on the other side of Carol with Judith in his arms. Since he found out that Beth was expecting, he took every chance he got to be around children. Arlene had never felt closer to her Uncle Johnny and Lucas was just excited that he had an Uncle Johnny. When they weren't spending time learning how to tie knots or something that Daryl thought would be useful for them, they were with Aunt Beth or Uncle Johnny, being cooed over.

I turned to tease Johnny about playing nanny but Daryl squeezed my side and nodded behind us. I turned in time to see Maggie come out the prison with Hershel limping beside her on his crutches. Beth hummed the wedding march beautifully while Maggie and Hershel made their way down the aisle. Hershel gave Maggie's hand to Glenn before he stepped around to the front to start the vows.

It was simple and beautiful and, at the end, Maggie and Glenn went to the guard tower, most of the women went into the prison to get things ready for dinner and Daryl, Johnny, and I stayed outside to mind the kids while everybody else cleaned up or went back to guard duty. In a rare moment of affection, Daryl stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist while we watched Arlene and Lucas play with Elizabeth and Grace. He stood stiffly and I knew he was glaring at anybody that was looking at him, but it was the thought that counted and I put my hands on top of his and smiled up at him. We were prepared to start working on the tombs the next day.

Rick separated us into groups of three, with a group of four working to fix the wall. Glenn couldn't have a "honeymoon" with all the work left to do. Instead, he went with Rick and Michonne to start clearing out rooms in the prison. We were informed to do a sweep of the room, checking to make sure there was no movement, living or dead. We locked the door back up and marked it with a large red 'x' to show that it was clear. Daryl, Johnny, Tyreese, and Eric were stuck working together on fixing the wall, because all four men had a background in repairs. It was true that Eric was just a mechanic, but he did basic home repairs as well. And Johnny did all of the repairs on the farm. However, that left me with Sasha and Kyra. One I'd never talked to, and one I tried to avoid talking to as often as possible. I would have preferred Michonne, who I also never spoke to.

Rick assigned us the left side of the prison and, as I was walking away, Daryl reached down to grab my wrist in his iron grip and growl lowly, "Ya see anythin' ya can' handle, ya fuckin' take off. Got it? Yer fast. Getchur ass back here to me. Understand?"

"I will," I promised. "Walker or human, if there's a problem I can't handle, I will come back to you."

He pulled me to him tightly and kissed me hard. He'd become increasingly more casual with touching since my near death experience. I enjoyed it, despite his tense body whenever he found himself wrapping his arm around me or kissing me quickly in front of other people. He pulled away quickly and ordered, "Git back here fast as ya kin or I'll come find yer lil ass an drag ya back here."

"I'll be back before you miss me." I hugged my brother and Sasha and Kyra said their goodbyes. Sasha's was quick and whispered. She mostly kept to herself and her brother anyway, which I understood. Kyra's goodbye was dramatic and annoying. She clung to Eric and moaned about how dangerous it was and how careful he needed to be.

"Only thing he's gotta worry bout is me or Dixon shootin' him," Johnny finally growled. "Now getchur ass outta here and try to not be useless."

She glared at him, but finally released Eric so she could follow Sasha and me as we marched away. We worked silently for a while. Sasha and I took turns unlocking doors and shining the flashlight inside to do a quick check before scrutinizing it more carefully. She came up with the idea of throwing pebbles into the rooms so that any walkers would move toward sound. Kyra mostly waited behind us until we were well into the rooms.

"So you and Daryl are really a thing, huh?" It was the first thing Kyra'd directly addressed to me that wasn't whining. I was surprised since she usually started off with comments about Arlene, and I actually answered her.

"Yes. We are raising two kids together. We share a room and a bed. We're a thing."

"Do the kids sleep with you? Or is Arlene finally sleeping by herself?"

"With us. They sleep in between us usually."

"God that has to kill your sex life. I wouldn't know what to do if I wasn't getting any. It's like a necessity. You know what I mean?"

"No." Sasha finally spoke up. "A necessity is food. Water. Not letting the place we live in be overtaken by biters. Sex is not a necessity."

I laughed and I could feel Kyra's glare burning into the back of my neck. There was venom in her voice when she spat out, "Well, Jesse, I know that it doesn't bother you when your man isn't giving it to you. Since you're not getting any from him, are you sure he's not giving it to anyone else?"

I rolled my eyes. Daryl was awkward enough with me, even after all we'd been through. The thought of him hooking up with anybody else was laughable. I replied, "Nah. Only whore on the block is you and he doesn't even know your name. He literally only refers to you as 'bitch' so I'm not worried."

She huffed and fell silent once again so that Sasha and I could get on with our work. The silence only lasted for a few minutes before she started up again. "He looks like he'd be rough in bed. You know, big strong redneck. Looks like he'd want to be in control a lot."

"I'm not discussing my sex life with you."

"Why? It's not like you don't know about mine. I mean, we shared the same fiancé. Apparently, we share a daughter. I've shared with you."

"You're an idiot. Shut up and do your job or I'm locking you in the next room, walkers or not, and I'll pick you up on my way back through," I threatened.

Once again, silence was achieved for a few moments before she opened her mouth again. This time, Sasha cut her off before she could even get a full sentence out. "Do you ever shut up?"

"She tries her hardest not to," I replied.

"Apparently." Sasha paused and then she took a turn speaking. "Can I ask you a question?"

I waved my hand flippantly at her. I'd never been into 'girl talk'. I grew up with Johnny as my best friend and we mostly hung out with guys and a massive pile up of their annoying girlfriends. She asked, "What'd you take that little boy in for?"

I whipped my head around quickly and stared at her. She was staring back innocently. I looked over at Kyra and she was nodding in agreement. "Well, we already had Arlene and we love her and the three of us just got really attached to Lucas. It just happened. Arlene asked us to let him stay with us for the night and it turned into an every night thing."

"That how you ended up with your little girl as well?" Sasha questioned.

"No, she took her." Kyra's bitchy side reared its ugly head.

"Her parents abandoned her so I stepped in," I corrected with a glare towards Kyra.

Kyra snapped, "Look, bitch. I was just trying to be friendly!"

"Listen here, whore. I don't need you to try to be my friend. I know it's hard to keep your mouth shut when you're always waiting to get a cock stuffed in it, but try to be a little quieter around me or I'll rip your fucking throat out!"

"Like you fucking could. You talk a big game but I've never seen you do anything around here."

It had been a long time coming and we both knew it. I didn't understand why Rick decided Kyra and I would be the best for a group when we had to be separated at least once a week because I was always on the edge of hitting her. I drew my hand back when Sasha hissed, "Shut up for a second. I heard something."

I froze and listened carefully. There was the quiet fall of boots onto concrete. Not the slow shuffling of walkers but the quiet, measured footsteps of men who didn't want to be found. Even Kyra heard them. Her face paled and suddenly, those long thin fingers wrapped themselves around my forearm in a punishing grip. She whispered, "What do we do? What do we do? Oh my god what can we do? Are we gonna have to kill someone?"

"Kyra, shut up," I murmured. "Shut the fuck up right now."

"Jesse, what do we do?"

"Jesse, the boots are getting nearer."

I turned and found the door we'd just unlocked. I ordered, "Get in."

"What?" They asked as one.

I wasn't thinking about anything other than the fact that I was trying to protect my group members. I just wasn't thinking. I repeated, "Get in."

I shoved them inside and explained, "I won't lock it but it will look like it. I'm going to lead them away. When I do, go get Daryl and the others. I'm going to try to get around to the front of the prison."

"But…"

"Trust me, okay? I'm the fastest and I have my own gun. Kyra's useless so really you're doing me a favor by letting me go out there. Just make sure Daryl and Johnny know what I'm doing, okay? Tell Johnny if I can't get out, I'll hide. He'll be able to find me, I promise."

With that, I shut the door and slid the chain loosely into place. The footsteps were getting closer and I could hear two sets. I took a deep breath, pulled my handgun out, and stepped around the corner defiantly. Sure enough, the Governor and Martinez stared back at me. Without hesitating, I raised my gun and the Governor ducked behind Martinez, who I shot in the shoulder. I wanted to shoot him in the leg, but I wanted them to be able to chase me. I needed them away from the prison block. So I shot and then I ran. I didn't know where I was going, I didn't know if I was going to hit a dead end or if I was going to meet walkers. I just ran with the thought in my head that I needed to lead them away from my family. So I ran. And ran. And ran with them at my heels.


	18. Chapter 18

Never really felt that 'fore. Feelin' of my heart hittin' my toes. When I left her, I felt guilty. When she almost got bit right fronta me, felt scared. But when Sasha an that bitch came back without her, filthy as fuck an lookin' scared, felt like my chest done fell right outta me. Could feel it hittin' the floor. She weren' with 'em. I jus figured some shit out, an she weren' with 'em fer me to tell her bout it.

I didn' never wanna get married. That's what I told myself. My mom and dad had been married. Didn' do 'em no good. He beat on her all the time an when we came long he beat on us. Then Merle been married a while after he got back from the Army. Wife was a lil coke head. Never made a noise when she was near someone. Jus sat there starin' atcha till ya asked her a question. She up an jus left Merle one day. He got the divorce papers in the mail a few months later. He was high outta his mind so I forged his name an sent 'em back to her. Alla the marriages I seen growin' up weren' nothin' to brag on an most a 'em ended in divorce, death, or someone runnin' away. Weren' no good. Shit, even Rick an Lori's marriage fell apart an they were one a them high class families. White picket fence an the whole nine. Marriages jus didn' work. So I didn' get why I was thinkin' more an more on the fact that Jesse'd weren' wearin' a ring on her finger when she was cartin' our kids round.

Thought bout it everytime I saw the fucker stare at her. Thought bout it everytime I saw that ring on Maggie's finger. Thought bout it everytime I saw the way Johnny looked at Beth. Thought bout it when I watched her walk away from me in the tombs an I thought real hard bout it when they showed up without her.

"Where the fuck is my woman?"

"We ran into some people," black woman started talkin'. "We aren't sure who it was. Jesse just shoved us into a supply closet and promised to lead them out of the prison and away from us."

I didn' realize what I was doin' till I had her pinned gainst the wall by her throat an fucker an the black man were peelin me offa her while Johnny was screamin' at the bitch, askin' her questions an accusin' her a shit. They got me off the black girl an then went after Johnny to get him way from the bitch.

"We didn't send Jesse off on her own!" The bitch yelled. "She just told us to hide until they left and then come get you. Then she shoved us in a closet and took off running. We couldn't stop her!"

"Ya coulda fuckin' tried ya useless bitch!" I shouted.

I turned to face Johnny an ordered, "'mon. We're gonna go getchur sister an then I'm never lettin' her stupid ass outta my sight again. Fuckin' ridiculous.'

"We should wait for Rick," black man spoke up. "He'll be able to get this organized."

"Fuck that," Johnny and I spat at the same time. Time I let Rick direct a search, I lost that lil girl. I lost Carol's only person in the world.

"He'll be able to rally all of us and send us in the right direction," black man argued.

"We'll fuckin' track her an find her an bring her back here," Johnny said simply. "Ya'll finish building this damn wall so nothin' else gets in while we're out there."

"What about your kids?" black girl spoke up quick an Johnny an I froze. She knew she had us there an she continued, "Daryl, you have two and, with Jesse gone right now, they're your responsibility to look after. And, Johnny, we all know Beth's got one on the way. I understand that you love Jesse but you have to keep your family safe."

"Jesse is family."

"Daryl, if Jesse doesn't find her way back to us in a few hours, you can go find her. But until then, we have other things to take care of. Like this hole in the wall. We need to fix this hole in the wall so that they can't get back in when Jesse leads them out."

I sounded like a damn wolf when I let loose a snarl. Johnny said stubbornly, "Ya'll fix the wall. Me an Daryl are gonna go find my sister. We'll see ya'll when we get back wit her."

We turned to leave an I stopped fer a second. I turned back round to the bitch. I warned her, "Ya an fucker over there don' go near Lil Bit or our boy til I get back or I'll fuckin' rip ya to pieces. Won't have to worry bout the walkers none."

"But…"

"Shut the fuck up."

Johnny an I walked towards the direction they'd come from. We made it down a few hallways, followin' the red xs that showed us where they done their work an then we found the door still open. One missin' the red x. We turned the corner an we saw the blood on the floor an it might as well a been our blood layin' there in a puddle. Reminded me of the fuckin' doll in that crick water all over again. The doll in the crick water. The lil hidin' hole in the house. Just nuff to get us thinkin'. Johnny whispered, "It ain't hers. She jus hit somebody an took off, know that's how Jesse is. They said she wanted to lead 'em away. That's what she's doin'. She's just leadin' 'em away."

"Blood goes that way." I didn' wanna talk bout who's blood it was. I didn' wanna talk bout her might bein' hit. Jus wanted to follow the blood an find my woman alive at the other end. Johnny an I turned an followed the trail. Whoever got hit musta used a tourniquet cause the blood stopped bein' a trail an started bein' a few lil droplets here an there, but there was three sets a footsteps in the dirt in the hall.

"She was heada 'em," I said. "Her lil feet are further than she normally walks. She was runnin'. Other two weren' movin' as fast but they were trackin' her."

"Wasn' goin' fast as she kin," Johnny replied. "She was tryin' to keep 'em on her tail."

"There nother way outta this hell hole from down here?"

He shrugged an we kept followin' the footprints in the dirt. They winded round corners, stopped fronta doors, stumbled over themselves, and scuffed along the dirt. We got far nough long an I pointed out, "Blood drops gettin' closer an closer. Whoever was bleedin' was slowin' down."

"Good. We kin catch that fucker."

Sped up after that, but we kept goin' long. I was gettin' more an more tired. I'd tracked deer fer miles not thinkin' twice bout it. But my woman missin' fer jus a lil bit was drivin' me wild. She weren' supposed to be missin'. Supposed to be an easy job. In an out. She had to go an fuck shit up. We got out to a back exit, chain shot off the door, stairs led up, an, when we followed 'em, they led out to the woods. Fence back there was knocked down. Woods just like where Sophia got lost at. Never found her neither. Never found her til it was too late and there weren' a Sophia no more. I couldn' let that be Jesse too.

"Screams a Jesse," Johnny said quiet. "She got out in those woods, she's gonna be fine. Ya never seen Jesse in the woods. That's her home out there."

"Gettin' dark," I sighed. "Trail's gonna be harder to follow."

"Daryl, ya got Arlene an Lucas to worry bout." He was spittin' those words out like they were snake venom an I knew it was hurtin' him to say it.

"So what? I gotta go tell my kids that their momma's out there somewhere, don' know what she's into or when she'll be back?"

"Well somebody has to tell 'em somethin', Daryl. They ain't gonna have Jesse tonight. They're gonna need ya."

"I can' tell 'em that, Johnny. I can' be the one tellin' them that I done lost their momma an that I ain't out there lookin' fer her." I couldn' do it. I couldn' look at them babies an tell 'em that their momma wouldn' be back. Wouldn' know how long she'd be gone. Wouldn' know if she'd never be back.

"Yer gonna have to, Dixon. My sister's gonna be alright fer one night. She's tough. Tougher'n nails. We'll find her tomorrow."

Felt like throwin' up. Felt like screamin' an hittin' somebody when we turned round an left that door. We turned round an we went back an wasn' Johnnhy had to tell my kids Jesse was out in those woods.


End file.
